IN response to the complaint of a Kagman resident who said he was unlawfully arrested, a police sergeant and a police officer with the Department of Public Safety told the federal court that there was probable cause to arrest Nicholas Yarolfalchuw.
He has alleged that his civil rights were deprived, and is asking the District Court for the NMI to issue an order awarding him an unspecified amount of damages.
Police Sgt. John Cabrera and Police Officer Daniel Fitial were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Cabrera, through Assistant Attorney General Leslie Healer, and Fitial, through AAG Keisha Blaise, have denied the allegation.
In their separate answers to the complaint, the defendants said they had probable cause to arrest Yarolfalchuw.
Included in their answer to the complaint was a police report stating that a Fish and Wildlife employee (turtle field survey technician) called for police assistance on May 10, 2021 and reported that someone harassed him at Tank Beach.
The Fish and Wildlife employee told police that there were four people who walked up to him, and one of them was Yarolfalchuw.
He said Yarolfalchuw asked about a drone that flew over his house, saying that Fish and Wildlife owned it, and that “it’s illegal to be flying a drone over a private property.”
The Fish and Wildlife employee told Yarolfalchuw that he had nothing to do with any drone, and that he was there to conduct a turtle survey.
He said Yarolfalchuw told him: “The next time I see the drone I’m going to shoot it and shoot the Fish & Wildlife employee that’s flying the drone as well.”
The Fish and Wildlife employee also told police about an encounter with Yarolfalchuw on April 8, 2021.
He said he was with another Fish and Wildlife employee at Tank Beach and was monitoring a turtle laying eggs at around 10:50 p.m. when they saw Yarolfalchuw walking toward them.
He said they greeted Yarolfalchuw who in turn asked them, “Did you guys catch any?”
Both told Yarolfalchuw that they were Fish and Wildlife employees.
According to the Fish and Wildlife employee, Yarolfalchuw became very angry and said, “So you guys are here to get eggs! The government is corrupted! You guys are just here to take the turtle eggs. I want to see your credentials!”
They said Yarolfalchuw also got upset when he saw the shovel that they were holding to cover the turtle tracks. “What the **** are you guys doing with the shovel when you’re supposed to be protecting the turtle!”
When their Fish and Wildlife supervisor arrived, Yarolfalchuw began yelling and told the supervisor that he was not qualified to be an officer.
In his report, Sergeant Cabrera stated that when he finished talking with the Fish and Wildlife employee, he decided to drive to a residential area to try to locate the four men.
Cabrera said he saw the four men drinking outside a residence.
He asked if anyone of them was Yarolfalchuw. He said he was there to find out what happened earlier at the beach with the Fish and Wildlife employee.
Cabrera said “Yarolfalchuw’s demeanor changed right away.”
According to Cabrera, Yarolfalchuw told him about the drone that Fish and Wildlife flew over his house and said it was illegal. “They are invading my privacy and the next time I see it, I will take my gun and shoot it down,” Yarolfalchuw said.
Cabrera told Yarolfalchuw that shooting down the drone was not the proper thing to do, and that there are other actions he could take such as going to the Fish and Wildlife management or to the Attorney General’s Office and ask what he could or couldn’t do.
Yarolfalchuw said it was a good idea but then all of a sudden, he got very loud and again talked about shooting the drone, Cabrera said.
He added that Yarolfalchuw became upset and began to yell at him, cussing him and told him to get out of his property.
Cabrera said he called for assistance when Yarolfalchuw became aggressive.
“From the information and physical description of Yarolfalchuw from an anonymous person at Tank Beach parking lot, as well as Yarolfalchuw himself saying that he was the one who spoke to the Fish and Wildlife employee about a drone being flown over his house and threatening to shoot it, I had enough to properly charge Yarolfalchuw with disturbing the peace,” Cabrera said.
According to Yarolfalchuw’s lawsuit, on May 10, 2021 at approximately 5 p.m. he was sitting in a pavilion within the premises where he resided, talking with relatives, when Cabrera arrived and entered the premises, parking beside the pavilion.
After a short discussion, the complaint stated, the plaintiff advised Cabrera that he was trespassing, and instructed him to depart.
“Cabrera did not depart, and instead used his [police] vehicle to block the driveway constituting the entrance to the premises,” the complaint stated.
Police Officer Fitial then arrived at the premises in another vehicle.
Under the direction of Cabrera, Fitial ordered the plaintiff to place his hands behind his back.
Fitial then placed the plaintiff in handcuffs, and ordered the plaintiff to get into Fitial’s vehicle.
Fitial drove the plaintiff to DPS headquarters where the plaintiff was held in custody for the rest of the day and the following night, until he was released at about 4 p.m. the following day.
“At no time did the defendants, or either of them, have any warrant for either the search of the premises or the arrest of plaintiff,” Yarolfalchuw’s complaint stated.
Nicholas Yarolfalchuw
