DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama liquor store owner has sued after a police officer responding to a robbery call at his store punched him in the face and broke his jaw in March 2020.
The Decatur Daily reports that Kevin Penn sued the city of Decatur and police officer Justin Rippen on March 11 in federal court. Penn is Black and Rippen is white.
The suit alleges the incident is an example of systematic use of “excessive force” by the Decatur Police Department that the city often ignores.
The lawsuit alleges Penn’s constitutional rights were violated by illegal seizure, false arrest and excessive force, seeking money damages.
City Attorney Herman Marks said Thursday his department hasn’t yet received the lawsuit and declined comment. Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said he regrets a lawsuit has been filed but referred questions to Marks.
The lawsuit alleges the city regularly receives complaints that officers “react with unjustifiable violence and false charges when a citizen speaks up or otherwise asserts his rights as an American citizen.”
The suit also accuses officers of “using common charges like obstructing governmental operation, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest” against local citizens.
“It is well known in the Decatur legal community that Decatur officers frequently use these charges, commonly referred to as POP (p— off police) charges, without a legal basis,” the lawsuit states.
Penn had trapped a shoplifter with an electronic lock and the suspect was lying on the ground, with Penn holding him at gunpoint. Surveillance video shows Penn unloading his gun as police arrive. The video appears to show Penn setting the gun magazine down as the officers approach.
An officer walked past the suspect and told Penn to put down his weapon. Penn refused saying, “I have a right to have my gun,” according to body camera video.
But police said in 2020 they believed Penn was reloading the gun. An officer, who has been identified as Rippen, then appears to…
Source : yahoo
