Father Roughed Up After Questioning Police Ban on Son's Toy Gun

Yes, he's suing

A Bonita Springs man is suing the Collier County sheriff and a deputy, alleging his civil rights were violated when he was arrested after questioning why his 5-year-old son couldn't bring a lime green toy gun into the county fair.

Maytham Mahmoud, 47, contends sheriff's Sgt. Gaines Myers, who was then the fair's security director, used excessive force and violated his rights by throwing him to the ground and kneeing him on Feb. 8, 2009, after he asked why the toy gun wasn't allowed.

"Myers knocked Mr. Mahmoud to the ground and pinned him face down by placing his knee with his full body weight into Mr. Mahmoud's back, causing unnecessary pain and injury," states the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers last week by Mahmoud's lawyers, Ray Taseff of Coral Gables and Robert Ross of Bonita Springs