Man arrested after 2025 speeding stop sues CCSD, police officer

A man suing the Clark County School District said a police officer who is the subject of more than two dozen internal affairs cases used excessive force against him during a 2025 traffic stop, which left him with concussion symptoms as well as torn shoulder labrums and other injuries.

Robert Scalise alleged in a lawsuit filed Friday in Clark County District Court that he forgot his license while driving to Nellis Air Force Base on April 10, 2025, and was heading home to retrieve it when he was stopped by CCSD police officer Daniel Ciarciaglini near Legacy High School, at the intersection of West Deer Springs Way and Goldfield Street.

Scalise said he immediately provided the vehicle’s registration and told Ciarciaglini he didn’t have his driver’s license on him, according to the complaint. Scalise gave the officer his name, date of birth, Nellis civilian identification card, vehicle registration and proof of insurance. Ciarciaglini is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Rather than accepting those documents, the complaint said, Ciarciaglini asked for Scalise’s Social Security number.

“Plaintiff asked Defendant Officer Ciarciaglini why his social security number was necessary for a routine traffic stop,” the complaint said. “As Plaintiff was retrieving his insurance information from his phone and inquiring about the social security number request, Officer Ciarciaglini grabbed the driver’s side door handle and attempted to open the locked vehicle door.”

According to the lawsuit, Ciarciaglini ordered Scalise to exit his vehicle. Ciarciaglini then forced Scalise’s arms behind his back and handcuffed him.

Scalise said Ciarciaglini lifted him by grabbing his arms, forcing “upward shoulder rotations, and raising (Scalise’s) arms, and drove him chest- and knee-first into the concrete,” according to the complaint.

Scalise said his shoulder range of movement was limited due to injuries from 2016. The lawsuit said Ciarciaglini’s “abrupt and excessive conduct in forcing (Scalise’s) arms behind his back and into handcuffs caused significant new injuries to both (Scalise’s) shoulders.”

Scalise said he lifted his head to breathe and Ciarciaglini grabbed the back of his head and forced his forehead into the pavement.

Ciarciaglini repeatedly told Scalise to stop resisting, though the lawsuit said Scalise was not resisting at any time. Ciarciaglini said Scalise was arrested for obstruction, the complaint said, even though the officer lacked probable cause to arrest Scalise for that offense.

North Las Vegas Municipal Court records show Scalise was cited for driving 1 to 10 mph over the speed limit in a school zone, but the case was dismissed in January. Scalise’s attorney, Taylor Jorgensen, declined to comment.

A CCSD spokesperson said in an email the district had not been served with the lawsuit and would not comment on personnel or pending legal matters. The district said Tuesday that Ciarciaglini was still employed by CCSD.

“CCSD is unable to discuss the details of pending legal matters; however, our officers care deeply about protecting our students, staff, and the community,” the district spokesperson said.

An attorney is not listed for CCSD or Ciarciaglini.

Ciarciaglini did not respond to a request for comment. Adam Levine, an attorney for the Police Officers Association of the Clark County School District said in an email Wednesday he is representing Ciarciaglini.

“Based upon the information obtained to date the Association believes the allegations of the lawsuit to be without merit,” Levine said of the lawsuit naming Ciarciaglini.

Alleged misrepresentations about stop

Scalise said he suffered abrasions to his head, a head injury with symptoms including dizziness and blurred vision, abdominal lacerations, neck pain, and other abrasions and bruises. Scalise said he also suffered labral tears in both shoulders, which required separate surgeries to repair.

Scalise additionally claimed Ciarciaglini falsely reported to dispatch that he only had Scalise’s name and no other identifying information. Citing body camera footage, Scalise said in the complaint Ciarciaglini told responding officers that Scalise gave no information and refused to get out of the car.

“Ciarciaglini made the representation despite the earlier note with (Scalise’s) name, knowing his license plate, having his vehicle registration, and his date of birth,” the lawsuit said.

Scalise alleges Ciarciaglini’s use of force violated his rights under the Nevada Constitution and U.S. Constitution. Scalise claimed the stop amounted to an unconstitutional search and seizure because Ciarciaglini “unlawfully prolonged, escalated, and converted a routine traffic stop into a custodial arrest … and justified his actions after the fact with a fabricated and unsupported obstruction theory.”

Complaint: Multiple complaints against officer

Scalise said Ciarciaglini’s supervisors declined to impose discipline and approved of the arrest and use of force even though Ciarciaglini had been the subject of more than two dozen internal affairs cases.

According to the complaint, CCSD failed to provide meaningful discipline, training or supervision for Ciarciaglini “despite notice of repeated complaints and review findings” involving the officer’s unlawful use of force and seizures during “routine encounters.”

District Court records show Ciarciaglini is also listed as a defendant in a 2025 lawsuit filed against CCSD that alleges Ciarciaglini unlawfully arrested a man who was recording a 2023 traffic stop. That case moved to U.S. District Court in August and is ongoing, according to federal court records.

In the federal case, attorneys for CCSD are also representing Ciarciaglini, court records show.

“The obvious and recurring risk was that Officer Ciarciaglini would again escalate a routine encounter, claim obstruction or resistance without adequate factual basis, use disproportionate force against a non-threatening person, and later justify the force through inaccurate or exaggerated accounts,” the complaint said. “This repeated failure by Defendant CCSD was the moving force behind, and a direct and proximate cause of, the violation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights and the resulting injuries and damages.”

Scalise is seeking compensatory, general and special damages for physical injuries, pain and suffering and psychological damage caused by the incident, along with other damages to be determined at trial.