San Diego Black Man Seeking Damages After he Called The Police to Report Assault and Was Instead Tackled and Arrested

Boy, these cops must be getting dumber, or they just love arresting the wrong person.

Stephen Keith, a 32-year-old Black U.S. Navy veteran in San Diego, California was attacked last year. But, instead of running after the attacker, he called the police according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Good decision right? You’d think.

Listen to this. The responding officers did not go after the attacker, they instead tackled Keith, knocking out some of his teeth in the process and arrested him. Oh, did I mention Keith was on crutches at the time?

As a result, Keith filed a claim with the city of San Diego on October 11th and is seeking more than $25,000 in damages for injuries, pain and suffering, legal costs and lost wages, and all the other things the responding officers ruined.

From The San Diego Union-Tribune:

According to the claim, the incident started when a stranger approached Keith on Keith’s property in Grantville to ask for a cigarette. Keith, who was on crutches while recovering from knee surgery, refused and the man violently attacked him.

Keith called police and four officers responded, according to the claim.

“When the San Diego Police Department officers arrived on scene, they immediately tackled Mr. Keith to the ground and began brutalizing Mr. Keith,” the claim said. “Prior to taking Mr. Keith to the ground, the officers did not direct any order towards Mr. Keith and Mr. Keith did not do anything to cause a reasonable peace officer to believe that any force used on Mr. Keith would be justified.”

Though Keith did not struggle, kick or otherwise resist arrest, the officers continued to use force against him, according to the claim. One officer struck Keith in the back with his knee seven times, the claim said.

Once in custody, Keith was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries, including knocked-out teeth and a hurt back, the claim said. Upon his release from the hospital, he was taken to jail and he later posted bail.

What’s ironic is that this incident happened a few months after the San Diego Police Department put into place a de-escalation policy, after the George Floyd protests, which required officers to use de-escalation tactics if possible and step in if another officer is using force when it’s not needed according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.