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Le’Keian Woods, beaten in viral arrest video, sues Florida officials

Sakege November 1, 2024

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida man who was brutally beaten by Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies in a viral video Last year, he filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging that officers brutally violated his rights.

Lawyers of Le’Keian ForestsWoods, 25, said in the lawsuit that Woods suffered a type of traumatic brain injury, ruptured kidney, nerve damage and other damages since the September 2023 arrest that resulted in a misdemeanor conviction for resisting the police without violence. The incident was captured on video by a bystander, showing a handcuffed Woods with his eyes swollen and his face bloodied.

“All of that was not justified,” attorney Harry Daniels said of police actions that included hitting Woods with fists, knees and elbows after he fled a police traffic stop and was tased.

Joining his attorneys at a news conference Thursday, Woods said he fled because he feared he would be shot during the traffic stop. He said he has no regrets about his decisions that day. Police reports at the time indicated that Woods was hit. at least 17 times.

He lawsuit He did not allege wrongdoing on the part of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, only individual officers. The lawsuit claims that the officers: Joshua GarrigaHunter Sullivan, Trey McCullough and Beau Daigle all used excessive force against Woods.

The lawsuit also adds a separate claim against Sullivan and Daigle for pointing guns at the vehicle’s occupants during the stop and a third claim against Sullivan saying the officer slammed Woods’ face into the ground after Woods was handcuffed. Officials could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

The incident sparked local and national outrage after the video spread on social media. Weeks after the incident, a Jacksonville social justice organization and Woods’ family rallied to denounce the officers’ actions and call for an end to police brutality, according to First Coast News.

Complaints about the arrest briefly reached the US Department of Justicewho said he was “following” the case. But in November 2023, the department paused its review, saying that “the incident does not give rise to an actionable violation of federal civil rights laws.”

What happened to Le’Keian Woods?

Video captured by the bystander showed officers detaining Woods after the traffic stop, in which at least three officers were seen forcefully restraining Woods on the grass near a vehicle. Daniels has said Woods was beaten by officers after being stopped for an alleged seat belt violation.

Officers alleged they saw Woods conducting a drug transaction at a gas station and believed he was armed, according to an arrest report and body camera footage. They attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but instead followed Woods and his two friends, who were in a van, to a dead end at the entrance to an apartment complex.

Daigle and Sullivan attempted to conduct a “high-risk takedown” at that location, according to the report. While Daigle was giving orders to the occupants, the report says Woods fled from the front passenger seat through the apartment complex.

Sullivan then chased Woods and deployed his Taser, the report said. Three of the officers, Sullivan, Garriga and McCullough, repeatedly punched and kneeled Woods while attempting to handcuff him.

Days after Woods’ arrest, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it believed deputies “acted appropriately” in response to the incident. Woods was initially charged with serious crimes, including armed trafficking of amphetamines and cocaine.

But those charges were then fell after his attorney argued that Woods was just a passenger in the truck and could not be involved in drugs. He pleaded guilty to resisting arrest without violence and was sentenced to nine days in jail.

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY