‘TRAUMATIZING’

Exonerated Duo Sue Cleveland Cops: ‘We Got Kidnapped For 15 Years’

“We walked out our doors one day, and we didn’t come back until 15 years later,” said Kenny Phillips.

Two Ohio men who were exonerated last year on a pair of attempted murder charges have sued the police department and state attorney’s office who wrongfully put them away for 15 years. Michael Sutton, 36, and Kenny Phillips, 35, announced their lawsuit Wednesday that accuses a trio of cops from the Cleveland Police Department of violating their civil rights by conspiring to fabricate and suppress evidence they claim would’ve proved their innocence nearly two decades ago. Their lawsuit also took aim at the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office for instituting and allegedly following a decades-old policy that allowed cops to withhold evidence and witness statements in criminal trials if it didn’t help the prosecution. In an interview with Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer, Phillips said he’s hoping they’re “gonna get some justice.” “What we’ve been through is traumatizing,” he said. “We got kidnapped for 15 years...We walked out our doors one day, and we didn’t come back until 15 years later.”