Who Is Paying Lorain’s Legal Bills?

The Board of Control Quietly Hires Lawyers for Knapp Case Co-Defendants

By Aaron Christopher Knapp
Editor, Lorain Politics Unplugged
November 2025

What You Weren’t Told About the Knapp Lawsuit

On November 14, 2025, the Board of Control convened in the basement of Lorain City Hall. On the surface, it looked like another run-of-the-mill meeting. But buried among routine items was a vote that revealed exactly how deeply City Hall is prepared to protect its own.

With little discussion and zero public explanation, Mayor Jack Bradley and Safety-Service Director Rey Carrion voted to authorize taxpayer-funded legal representation for two individual co-defendants in the pending federal civil rights lawsuit Knapp v. City of Lorain.

Yes. The same lawsuit where I, the plaintiff, allege retaliation, First and Fourth Amendment violations, and unconstitutional conduct by the Lorain Police Department and city officials.

Taxpayer-Funded Defense for Individuals

Here is what the Board did. It approved outside counsel, paid for by your tax dollars, to defend two named individuals sued in their personal capacities. In plain language, that means City Hall is not just defending itself. It is defending specific officials accused of violating constitutional law. And they did it without public debate.

These are not minor procedural matters. They are major constitutional questions regarding retaliation, public access, and civil rights. And the Board has now committed public funds to hire outside lawyers for people who are not even the city itself.

How Did We Get Here?

On paper, city officials are supposed to be indemnified if they act within the scope of their official duties. But the lawsuit alleges they did not. They acted outside of policy and in retaliation against protected speech. Yet the city is still paying their legal bills.

That raises the question. Who authorized this? Where is the legal written finding that these individuals acted in good faith and within the scope of their employment?

If such documentation exists, it has not been shown or released to the public.

This Is Not Just About One Case

What this shows is an ongoing pattern. When public officials are accused of violating the constitution, they do not pay out of their pocket. You do. When public records requests are withheld and then litigated, you pay both sides. When misconduct becomes expensive, they hide the vote in a Board of Control meeting.

Even worse, the city often hires outside lawyers without media notice. And they do it not for generalized legal advice but for targeted defense of their own political allies.

Why This Matters

This is not just a procedural complaint. It is a principled one. If the government can use public funds to shield individual officials from accountability, the public never actually wins. It pays both sides in a lawsuit and gets neither transparency nor reform.

It creates a chilling precedent. If officials believe they can violate rights with impunity, knowing the city will foot the bill, then the protections in the Bill of Rights mean nothing in practice.

Transparency Demands Taxpayer Oversight

Not a single member of Lorain City Council objected. Not a single press release was issued. The decision quietly went through the Board of Control just like the $49,911 pothole settlement. That is how an unchecked executive operates.

The public was never informed. Most residents have no idea their money is now defending individual government actors from constitutional claims.

Lorain’s public deserves better.

A Final Call

Read the legal filings. Follow the case. And remember that whenever money is spent without debate, it is rarely for your benefit. You can watch the Board of Control minutes yourself on the city website. Or you can read them here, with a spotlight on what they didn’t want you to see.

Lorain Politics Unplugged will continue covering the hidden votes, the legal bills, and the silent authorizations until transparency is not the exception but the rule.

Silence protects power. We shine light.

See the PDF here:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:482f7f77-4bf3-4181-b599-a0184c014570

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