A man who was charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child for an alleged incident in 2014 that was later dismissed in court is now suing Roosevelt City and Roosevelt City Police for $7.5 million dollars. The case against Jerahmia Hardman was one month away from a scheduled jury trial in early 2017 when it was indicated that a motion to dismiss would be filed due to discovery concerns. Court documents show that an evidentiary hearing held in June of 2017 examined Officer Pete Butcher and Officer Tracy Bird as well as other witnesses in the case. The next month the court filed a Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss. Hardman filed the $7.5 million dollar civil lawsuit against Roosevelt City, Roosevelt Police Department, and Officers Pete Butcher and Tracy Bird in September. The lawsuit claims that evidence was falsified and there are missing and allegedly destroyed portions of video-recorded interviews with Hardman. When asked about the case, Roosevelt City Police Chief Rick Harrison said he cannot comment now that it is in the hands of the City insurance attorneys.
