The City of Westlake will pay $127,000 to resolve a federal civil-rights lawsuit filed by William McKissack after a 2021 traffic stop that he says turned violent and left him with a head injury. A recent council vote cleared the way for the payout and signaled the end of a case that has been hanging over city hall and the police department for years.
Council Approved The Payout
City Council passed Ordinance No. 2026-5, authorizing the mayor to enter into a settlement agreement in the lawsuit. According to the ordinance, the agreement will be kept on file in the city’s Finance Department and was adopted as an emergency measure so officials could quickly finalize the resolution. The council’s vote gives the mayor and the law director the green light to take whatever steps are needed to close out the litigation.
What The Lawsuit Says
As reported by Cleveland.com, the complaint claims Officer Ryan Jasinsky pulled McKissack over on Oct. 18, 2021, for allegedly having tinted windows, then picked him up and slammed him to the ground during the encounter. The suit says Jasinsky requested a drug-sniffing dog after stating he saw marijuana in the vehicle, and officers later recovered a firearm.
McKissack was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, improperly handling a gun in a car, and obstructing official business. According to the lawsuit, those charges were later dropped after a judge suppressed evidence in 2022. McKissack’s attorney told Cleveland.com that McKissack’s head was split open and that he suffered a one-centimeter cut.
Federal Filing And Timeline
The federal case was filed on May 15, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and is captioned McKissack v. Jasinsky, No. 1:23-cv-00984. The complaint brings claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the traffic stop and the force used violated McKissack’s constitutional rights. Court records on Justia show the case was removed to federal court after initial state-court proceedings and has remained active on the Northern District docket since 2023.
Officer Background Flagged In Complaint
The lawsuit highlights Jasinsky’s training, describing him as a Navy SEAL and a trained mixed-martial-arts fighter. McKissack’s lawyers lean on those details to argue that the level of force alleged in the complaint was not necessary under the circumstances. That background, along with the broader account of the stop, was reported by Cleveland.com. The article also notes that it does not report whether Jasinsky has faced any internal discipline tied to the allegations in the suit.
How This Fits In Locally
Across Northeast Ohio, cities have increasingly resolved police use-of-force disputes with settlement checks rather than courtroom showdowns. WOIO, for instance, reported an out-of-court settlement of roughly $450,000 in Elyria over a separate incident, and Akron has reached its own agreements in recent force-related cases. Taken together, those deals underscore the financial and policy choices local governments confront when civil-rights claims target their officers.
What Happens Next
With council authorization now in place, the mayor can execute the settlement paperwork, and the federal case is expected to wrap up once the parties file dismissal documents. The ordinance states that the settlement agreement will be kept on file in Westlake’s Finance Department, where the public record will show how the city opted to resolve the claim. The payout closes this chapter of litigation, even as the details of the 2021 stop remain preserved in public court records and in ongoing local conversations about police oversight.
