LANCASTER, KY — Three Lancaster police officers have been placed on administrative suspension while the department investigates an encounter that left 84-year-old Ronald Maples injured at his home. Mayor Michael Gaffney announced the suspensions after the Friday night incident on Colony Road.
Maples’ attorney, Ephraim Helton, says the police version of events is wrong and that the family plans to challenge the citation and the account in the report. Helton said Maples suffered multiple broken bones and other injuries, and he described the case as one of the most serious beatings he has seen involving law enforcement and an elderly citizen.
Family says property disputes led up to the police response
Ronnie Lee Maples, Ronald Maples’ grandson, said the situation began with repeated disputes involving neighbors who live behind the house. He said those neighbors had been trespassing on the property and that his grandfather had tried to mark the boundary and protect it.
According to Ronnie Lee, officers arrived at the home Friday night and pulled a no trespassing sign from the ground before throwing it onto the porch. He said the family sees the case as a property conflict that should have stayed between neighbors, not a matter that required law enforcement to escalate the situation.
Helton echoed that view, saying the dispute belonged in civil court rather than in a police confrontation. He said Maples had placed stakes that matched surveyor pins because a neighbor had been driving across the yard.
Attorney says officers went inside without a warrant and used excessive force
Helton said he has pictures showing blood on the front porch and just inside Maples’ house. He argued that officers had no warrant and no legal reason to enter, and he alleged that they forced Maples into the home and beat him.
The attorney said the police report is inaccurate and that his team will bring in a human factors expert to challenge it. He also said the Lancaster Police Department’s lack of body cameras is a major problem in evaluating what happened during the encounter.
Helton said the incident should be examined carefully because, in his view, the injuries were severe and the response was far beyond what law enforcement should use against an 84-year-old man.
Police citation says Maples struck an officer, but defense disputes that claim
After the encounter, Ronald Maples received a citation from Lancaster police. An officer said Maples struck him in the face on the right side with his left hand using a closed fist.
Helton disputed that account and pointed to a prior injury to Maples’ hand. He said one of Maples’ thumbs had nearly been severed in a saw accident years earlier and that he cannot close that hand.
Based on that injury, Helton said the police description does not make sense physically. He said the defense intends to use expert analysis to push back on the charge and the officer’s version of the contact.
Maples faces assault and resisting arrest charges ahead of an October court date
Maples is facing charges of third-degree assault and resisting arrest. He is scheduled to be in court Oct. 12.
Helton said he wants a broader investigation and plans to contact Commonwealth’s Attorney Andy Sims, Kentucky State Police, Attorney General Russell Coleman and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He said he believes criminal charges should be filed against the officers involved.
Wednesday, when asked how many officers were at the scene, Helton said his understanding was that four officers responded, but only three have been placed on administrative leave.
Mayor suspends officers as questions grow over the department’s handling of the case
Helton praised Mayor Michael Gaffney for publicly acknowledging the suspensions and said that step was important. He also said the mayor has refuted a claim that he gave the neighboring property owners permission to drive across Maples’ yard.
According to Helton, an officer told Maples that the mayor had authorized the neighbors to use the property, but Helton said mayors do not have that power. He argued that the police report also wrongly described Maples as creating a false boundary line.
Helton said officers misunderstood the layout of the property and ignored what he described as the actual survey markers. He added that his office visited the site Monday to review the setting where the confrontation took place.
Helton plans to press state and federal officials for a full investigation
As the internal inquiry continues, Helton said he wants a full-blown investigation into the incident. He said he will reach out to state and federal officials to review what happened and to examine whether the officers’ conduct crossed a criminal line.
The attorney said he has practiced law in Central Kentucky for 44 years and still considers this one of the worst examples of force he has seen. He said the case has already raised serious concerns about how the department handled the encounter and documented it afterward.
For now, the main questions center on what happened inside and outside the home on Colony Road, how the officers responded, and whether the department’s account will withstand closer scrutiny.
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