Minneapolis police officers violated Andre Moore’s civil rights twice in a matter of months, a lawsuit obtained by the Atlanta Black Star alleges.
According to the lawsuit, officers pulled a gun and taser on Moore while he complied during a traffic stop and then beat him until he was unconscious in December 2019. After he filed complaints about the abuse, he was framed for drug charges by one of the officers involved. A judge later dropped the charges because they were based on the “reckless disregard for the truth.”
The lawsuit is one of several that depicts the department’s reported history of the disproportionate use of excessive force against Black people. Moore’s attorneys say he sustained a broken nose, multiple cuts, bruises, and abrasions to his face and body, among other injuries from the violent arrest. His eyes were almost swollen shut and his face was splattered with blood.
Moore was also held in jail for several months on the baseless charges. His bloody arrest was “egregious conduct” by the officers followed by “a premeditated act of revenge,” the lawsuit alleges.
Moore is seeking monetary damages for violation of his rights. The lawsuit alleges the five officers’ conduct robbed the man of his right to be free from unreasonable searches and “unnecessary and senseless violence at the hands of peace officers.”
Moore was dropping home a female friend who lived blocks away from his house on Dec. 7, 2019, when he was pulled over by Minneapolis Officer Tony Partyka and his partner. Partyka said in the report that he recognized Moore as someone with an outstanding arrest warrant, but no such warrant existed at the time, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleges that when the officers approached Moore’s car, he placed his hands on the steering wheel. The officers wrote in the report that they could smell alcohol emanating from Moore’s vehicle and saw an empty container that they believed was used for alcohol.
They ordered Moore out of the vehicle, and when he tried to unfasten his seatbelt, he was accused of reaching for something, the lawsuit says.
Partyka pulled out his Taser and placed it on Moore’s chest, and threatened to stun him if he did not put his hands up. The lawsuit alleges that Moore attempted to comply with the orders several times and had not made any sudden or threatening movements.
Body-worn footage showed another officer, identified in the lawsuit as Dirk Spree, driving up to the scene and immediately running up, pulling a gun on Moore. As the officers threw the man to the ground, one grabbed a handful of his hair while another lambasted him with blows.
Moore posted the video on YouTube with the caption: “the night I could’ve died.”
“He’s grabbing something in his right arm,” one of the officers said.
“Stop! What are you doing?” The woman in the passenger side screamed.
“You’re going to get tased,” one officer said.
The woman continued to plead with officers as they piled on Moore, already on the ground.
“Stop removing. Stop resisting,” one officer repeatedly said as Moore moaned out, seemingly in pain.
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