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A lawsuit for “malicious prosecution” against the City of Longmont and Longmont police officer Stephen Desmond is moving forward after the judge denied a motion to dismiss. The original complaint was filed July 26, 2023 and also included officer Alan Baldivia as a defendant. The plaintiff, Robert Lewandowski, alleges that Officer Desmond “intentionally and knowingly included false statements in his arrest warrant affidavit” when Lewandowski was arrested and tried for committing financial crimes against his mother.
Lewandowski was arrested on February 4, 2019, less than a week after having a two-minute phone conversation with Officer Desmond as part of an investigation on Lewandowski. Lewandowski was eventually charged for financial crimes, including stealing stock from his mother, changing his mother’s will so he would be the sole beneficiary, making himself power of attorney, and stealing cash from his mother’s bank accounts.
The complaint alleges that Officer Desmond had “exculpatory statements” from Lewandowski’s sister, Irene Kantrowitz, that he did not steal stock or change his mother’s will to make himself the sole beneficiary. Lewandowski said the statements were not considered by Officer Desmond when prosecution was brought against him.
Lewandowski was acquitted of all charges on July 30, 2021. The lawsuit alleges that Lewandowski’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated by Officer Desmond and the City of Longmont. It states that “Longmont directed or had actual knowledge of and acquiesced in the violations of Mr. Lewandowski’s constitutional rights.”
The complaint says the City of Longmont was “deliberately indifferent” to the constitutional rights of individuals who come into contact with Officer Desmond. It states that “Longmont’s inadequate policies and customs, and failures to properly train and supervise its police officers, were a direct and proximate cause of the police officers' violations of Mr. Lewandowski’s clearly established constitutional rights.”
Officer Desmond alleged that Lewandowski had transferred money from his mother’s Wells Fargo account as well as a joint Capital One account. However, the complaint states that Lewandowski and his mother did not have a joint Capital One card, but they each had a personal account. Officer Desmond alleged Lewandowski illegally transferred funds to himself from his mother’s Wells Fargo account via the “bill pay” feature, but those payments were all made to third parties for his mother’s bills, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Officer Desmond knew they did not have a joint Capital One account and also knew that Lewandowski had a valid power of attorney to help his mother with her finances. Despite this, the lawsuit says Officer Desmond included this false information in his arrest affidavit.
Following Lewandowski’s acquittal, he filed a criminal complaint with the Longmont Police Department against his sister, Kantrowitz, for making false statements to law enforcement. Those statements were not specified in the complaint. Lewandowski spoke with Officer Alan Baldivia, who told him the matter would not be investigated because it is a “civil matter.” The lawsuit states that making false statements to law enforcement is a criminal offense, so the Longmont Police Department should have properly investigated the matter.
Lewandowski filed a complaint with the Longmont Professional Standards Unit (PSU) because the department did not investigate his sister for making false statements. The lawsuit states that “defendant Longmont simply ignored it.”
Baldivia was listed as a defendant in October 2023 and an amended complaint was filed in November 2023. An unknown investigation was conducted against Officer Baldivia “while retired” in April 2023, but no other information has been made public.
