The former head of Philadelphia’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs has sued the Pennsylvania State Police and a since-fired state trooper for his actions — captured on video that went viral — when he arrested her and her husband after a 2024 traffic stop.
Celena Morrison-McLean,52, and her husband, Darius McLean, 36, contend that the former trooper, identified in their suit as Andrew Zaborowski, used force “without provocation or justification.”
Their allegations against Zaborowski include assault, false imprisonment, and battery.
In the suit, filed Monday in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia, they further accuse the Pennsylvania State Police of negligent hiring, retention, and supervision, and ask for damages in excess of $50,000; damage requests under $50,000 require compulsory arbitration in Philadelphia.
» READ MORE: What we know about the Philly LGBT official detained by Pa. State Police
Pennsylvania State Police said that as a matter of policy the agency does not comment on pending litigation. Zaborowski also declined to comment.
The incident began on the morning of March 2, 2024 on the Vine Street Expressway. Morrison-McLean was driving a gray Infiniti sedan with an expired and suspended registration, illegally tainted windows, and without illuminated headlights at a time when it was raining, state police said. McLean was tailgating Morrison without enough space between the cars.
The couple were on their way to a mechanic to fix Morrison-McLean’s car, according to the suit.
Zaborowski signaled Morrison-McLean to pull over, and McLean followed in his rental car, stopping on the shoulder of the expressway as well.
Zaborowski approached McLean’s vehicle first “with his service weapon drawn,” the suit says. McLean explained that he was following his wife, when Zaborowski responded “get the F out of the car” and forcibly removed McLean from the vehicle and pushed him to the ground, according to the complaint.
Morrison-McLean then stepped out of her vehicle and began recording the incident on her phone.
State police said that McLean “became verbally combative toward the trooper” and “refused multiple lawful orders” leading to his arrest. Morrison was arrested after attempting to “interfere” with her husband’s arrest, according to the agency.
“Both individuals were arrested for resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, disorderly conduct, and other related charges,” state police said at the time.
The video of the arrest, which went viral on social media in the following days, begins when McLean is on the pavement as Zaborowski attempts to handcuff him.
“Do you want to get tased? Put your hands behind your back!” the officer can be heard yelling.
“OK! They are!” McLean says.
“That is my husband! Please!” Morrison-McLean yells.
“It’s OK, baby, it’s OK. … I don’t know why he’s doing this,” McLean says.
At one point Morrison-McLean shouts toward the officer, “I work for the mayor! I work for the mayor!” Zaborowski responds by telling her to “shut the f— up.”
Later in the video, she is heard saying: “He just punched me.”
Morrison-McLean said that she mentioned her position with the mayor’s office an “attempt to de-escalate the situation,” according to the complaint.
The two were held for roughly 12 hours before they were released Saturday night, the suit said.
State police initially filed several misdemeanor and summary charges against the duo, but the District Attorney’s Office declined the charges “pending additional review.” Court records indicate the no charges have been filed against them.
The widely circulated video led to comments by elected officials.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker called the footage “very concerning,” and Councilmember Rue Landau, the first openly LGBTQ member of City Council, called it “alarming.”
Speaking about the incident a few days later, Morrison-McLean said that she never felt more helpless than she did during the traffic stop.
“It’s disheartening that as Black individuals, we are all too familiar with the use of the phrase, ‘Stop resisting,’ as a green light for excessive force by law enforcement,” Morrison-McLean said at the time.
Kevin Mincey, an attorney with Mincey Fitzpatrick Ross who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the couple, did not respond to requests for comment.
» READ MORE: Pa. state trooper who arrested a Philly LGBTQ official has been fired, union says
Two months after the stop, Zaborowski was fired from the State Police after the agency opened an internal investigation into the stop.
Stephen Polishan, president of the Pennsylvania State Trooper Association, criticized the decision.
“The department’s leadership should have fought against the attacks made about this young man’s character. Instead, they abandoned him,” Polishan said in May 2024.
In a statement on X, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacey Garrity said that that Zaborowski was a victim of “political retribution” after he arrested “a well-connected Philly politician.”
Morrison-McLean was appointed to lead the office in 2020 by then-Mayor Jim Kenney and was the first openly transgender person to lead the Philadelphia office. She left the post in November 2024.
Staff writers Ellie Rushing and Michelle Myers contributed to this article.