Lawsuit Says That Maryland Cops Beat and Traumatized DC National Guardsman
A D.C. National Guardsmen has filed a lawsuit against the city of Seat Pleasant, Maryland and two police officers of said location whom he claims dragged him out of his car, beat and then shocked him with a stun gun, according to NBC4 Washington.
Tayvon Eubanks, of D.C., was driving in Seat Pleasant the night of Nov. 29, 2017 when he noticed a vehicle behind him was following him, according to the lawsuit. He stopped and pulled over into a driveway at someone’s home and the vehicle stopped behind him.
Two officers got out of the vehicle and ordered Eubanks to show them his hands, the lawsuit says. According to Eubanks’ attorney, the officers stopped him for bad paper tags. Police said Eubanks was speeding.
“Let me see your hands! Get the f**k out of the car. Lay down,” the officers can be heard yelling at Eubanks on body camera footage. The video shows the officers pointing their guns at him.
“Both of the officers were at his windows, one on each side, with their guns drawn. They told him to get out of the vehicle before he had an opportunity to get out of the vehicle. He was pulled out of the vehicle and Officer Loving landed on top of him, Eubanks’ attorney Samuel M. Shapiro said.
The arresting officers claimed that Eubanks got out his car in a fighting stance. However, the body camera footage shows that he got out with his hands up.
The officers also said that he tried to flee before they put him down on the ground, but the video does not show that either. Moreover, the police don’t mention that their guns were drawn in the report.
After a struggle with the two officers, Eubanks appears to stand on his feet and attempts to run away. As he does this, the officers use a stun gun on him.
According to the report, he had no guns, warrants or anything illegal inside of his car.
Eubanks had received multiple traffic citations and was taken to a hospital and after he was released, was taken to jail.
Eubanks’ attorneys say that he was traumatized by the incident.
