A man assaulted by several convicted Guardian Angels outside a downtown Davenport bar in 2010 is now suing them in Scott County District Court, online records show.
The lawsuit naming James Steel et al as defendants was filed Wednesday by Newton, Iowa, attorney Jacob van Cleaf on behalf of the victim, Levi Walters, records show.
Steel, 32, of Davenport pleaded guilty last year to assault and false imprisonment, both serious misdemeanors. Scott County District Judge Marlita Greve suspended the 120-day jail sentences on each charge.
Steel was president of the local chapter of the Guardian Angels when he was accused of assaulting Walters on April 25, 2010.
Former Guardian Angels Stephen Cypret, 31, and Thomas Buechel, 52, also pleaded guilty to false imprisonment charges stemming from the April 25 incident. Cypret was given a suspended 120-day jail sentence, and Buechel was sentenced to one year of probation.
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Steel, Buechel and Cypret were on duty wearing their signature uniforms — red beret and white T-shirt — when they approached a man they said they believed was stalking a woman. Police said the Angels punched 25-year-old Walters in the face and broke his arm.
Their lawyers advised them to plead to lesser charges, Guardian Angels national director and Chicago chapter president Mike “Third Rail” Fuentes has said, to avoid the chance they would be found guilty on felony charges at a jury trial.
Former Davenport Alderman Bill Lynn, who championed bringing the Guardian Angels to Davenport, has said the Angels have allowed members with misdemeanors on their records, but not felonies.
The Guardian Angels is a volunteer organization of unarmed citizens that started in New York City in 1979. The Guardian Angels have ceased patrolling Davenport streets.