A veteran has scored a major legal victory after he was assaulted and falsely arrested by police officers in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Joshua Rohrer, a disabled military veteran, was homeless and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when he was accosted by multiple police officers who accused him of panhandling.
On the day of the confrontation, he was standing near a shopping center with Sunshine, his emotional support dog. He had become known in the community for being a friendly face. “We would walk around and smile and wave at people,” he said in a story I covered at RedState. “I was making friends and things like that. It just became my routine, something to get me through the day.”
He did not ask passersby for money. However, many who came to know him would give him food and cash voluntarily. However, he soon became a target for two Gastonia Police Department officers who told him to leave the area even though he had not committed a crime.
Under North Carolina law at the time, it was not illegal for a homeless individual to receive cash or food from others as long as they weren’t actively soliciting them. Officer Maurice Brooks interacted with Rohrer on several occasions.
Rohrer moved to a different location after being ordered to do so. Still, Brooks accosted him again. “It was like I couldn’t do anything to appease him,” Rohrer said. “He promised me that the next time…he was going to arrest me.”
On October 13, 2021, Officer Cierra Brooks approached the veteran, demanding that he leave the area. He complied. But after the officer saw someone voluntarily give him some food and money, she pressed the issue. “And when she saw them give me something, that’s when she came up and the whole encounter started again,” he recalled.
The officer wanted to cite him for panhandling even though he had not asked for food or money. “I tried to explain that I wasn't panhandling, that I hadn't asked anybody for anything and I didn't have the time,” Rohrer said. “I was trying to say, ‘How can you give me a citation for something I didn't do?’ And that's when I did not want to obviously get the ticket. I was like, I haven't done anything wrong.”
Another officer arrived on the scene after Brooks called for backup. The officers threatened to take his dog and euthanize her even though the Office of Veterans Affairs had prescribed the emotional support animal.
The officers demanded Rohrer’s identification. He explained that his drivers license was expired, but offered his VA identification. The officers rejected it. “That's when he grabbed me by my arm and pushed me over the hood of the car and was trying to arrest me or placed me under arrest,” Rohrer recounted.
Seeing that her master was in distress, Sunshine did her job as an emotional support dog and jumped on the hood of the police car to lick Rohrer’s face to calm him down. The officers slammed Rohrer to the ground even though he did not pose a threat. When Sunshine tried to go to her master while he was on the ground, Officer Taylor tased her.
"He held the taser down for a crazy long time. Somewhere close to maybe 10 seconds or something like that…and the whole time, he's like, ‘Get your dog. Get your dog.’ I went after her because I just wouldn't let her get tased…I started screaming after her…I went to run around the side of the cruiser after her, and Brooks jumped on my back and pulled me down to the ground and got on top of me, and I was just screaming, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’”
Bodycam footage shows the whole encounter.
The footage also shows the officer falsely telling passersby that Rohrer had assaulted them. After they handcuffed him, they gave his dog to a nearby person who witnessed the incident. However, Sunshine fled after being tased. Days later, she died after being hit by a car.
The officers were never charged for their misconduct. But Rohrer filed a lawsuit, which has been going through the process since 2021.
However, a federal judge recently ruled that his lawsuit against the officers and the City of Gastonia could proceed, rejecting the defendant’s motion to dismiss. The court held the veteran’s claim that the officers’ excessive force should “overcome qualified immunity.”
I am thrilled to share that the district court denied most of Defendants' motion to dismiss in my lawsuit against the City of Gastonia and the individual officers who arrested me. I'm looking forward to moving ahead to discovery and getting to prove my case in court. pic.twitter.com/kLLLbz0HDY
— Joshua Rohrer (@joshuarohrer84) July 28, 2025
The judge further concluded that there was evidence showing the city has “an official policy of hostility toward homeless people.”
He also pointed out that “The City followed the unlawful arrest with an extended social media campaign consisting of hundreds of false, taunting, and disparaging statements about Mr. Rohrer.”
The lawsuit alleges that the city and its officers violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights, along with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and North Carolina law.
Rohrer is looking forward to his vindication. “I am relieved that both federal judges who have looked at my case agreed that Gastonia's conduct could be unlawful,” he told Townhall. "I am hopeful that the City of Gastonia will be held accountable for their 'official policy of hostility toward homeless people’ which resulted in the officers’ misconduct and use of excessive force during my unlawful arrest.”
He added, “Sunshine was not just my service animal, she was my world. I hope our trauma is not for nothing, and that it can change the future in a positive way for others by ensuring it never happens again.”
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