Lawsuit claims police misconduct

A Huntington Beach couple has sued the city, the Police Department and two police officers, claiming the officers entered their home without a warrant, then falsely arrested and inappropriately touched one of them.

Lt. Mitch O’Brien said the allegations in the lawsuit alleging civil rights violations are false.

Lawyer Mark Eisenberg, representing Nadsya James Mohoff and Eric Anderson, said that on the evening of Sept. 25, after the couple had returned home from dining out with friends, the two officers knocked on their door and asked to see the owner of the Dodge Charger parked outside.

The owner of the vehicle, Mark Stewart, a friend of the couple who drove that night, was in the backyard smoking a cigarette when the officers were at the door.

Anderson told the officer he would find Stewart and get back, Eisenberg said.

While Anderson was in the backyard, Mohoff, who was unaware of the officers’ inquiry at the time, heard knocking on the door again and opened it.

The officers allegedly requested to enter the residence, and when Mohoff refused, they forced entry, threw her on the floor and handcuffed her, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that one officer placed his hand up Mohoff’s skirt while arresting her.

“One of the two officers engaged in a conduct that a female might find invasive,” Eisenberg told the Independent. “In other words, he put his hands up her skirt in a fashion that’s not acceptable.”

When Anderson entered the residence from the backyard, he was also arrested.

Court records show Mohoff was arrested on suspicion of resisting an officer. She pleaded not guilty, and the case against her was dismissed.

Anderson was also arrested on suspicion of resisting an officer and assaulting an officer. The case against him was also dismissed.

O’Brien said the officers were called to the couple’s residence after receiving a report of a loud party and erratic driving in the Dodge.

He said the altercation with the officers took place at the doorway and the woman was not sexually assaulted.

O’Brien would not give details of the incident because the city is being sued.

The officers have not been charged with any crimes.

mona.shadia@latimes.com

Twitter: @MonaShadia