A man claimed in a federal lawsuit filed on Monday that he was left crippled and need to have his legs amputated as a result of police officers in Florida, putting him in handcuffs, failing to put on a seatbelt, and driving recklessly while in the back of the police van.
The case against the city of St. Petersburg and the police officers Sarah Gaddis and Michael Thacker was filed in US District Court for the Middle District of Florida by Heriberto Alejandro Sanchez-Mayen. According to the lawsuit, Sanchez-Mayen's spinal cord injury caused both of his legs above the knee to be amputated and rendered him a quadriplegic, or disabled in all limbs.
The lawsuit claims Sanchez-Mayen shouldn't have been detained in the first place and mentions that the county court eventually dropped the criminal trespassing accusation. According to the lawsuit, the allegation concerns an incident that happened on June 8, 2023, during which Gaddis seized and arrested Sanchez-Mayen for trespassing.
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The lawsuit claims Sanchez-Mayen shouldn't have been detained in the first placeAccording to the lawsuit, the allegation concerns an incident that happened on June 8, 2023, during which Gaddis seized and arrested Sanchez-Mayen for trespassing.
Gaddis approached Sanchez-Mayen, who was lying down in a grassy lot, and inquired as to what he was doing, according to police body cam footage. "I dozed off," he answered. The footage indicates that Gaddis initially said she would give Sanchez-Mayen a ticket but later altered her mind.
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“You’re going to write me a ticket?” Sanchez-Mayen asked. “No, you’re going to take the ride today. I’ve decided that you’re going to actually go to jail today. Far too many problems with you,” she responded. “We’re getting all kinds of complaints. Can’t be doing this,” the officer said.
Officer Gaddis decided to bring Sanchez-Mayen in for having "far too many problems"“You get tickets all the time. You don’t care. You don’t change your ways,” she explained. After then, according to the lawsuit, Thacker pulled up in a police van, handcuffed Sanchez-Mayen in front of his body, and confined his movement with a metal belly chain.
Thacker said on the body camera tape that after a certain amount of incidences, any offense ought to be classified as a felony. "It would probably end with a year in jail," he continued. Sanchez-Mayen's attorney, Thomas Scolaro, told CNN that his client had "some prior arrests for things like loitering and trespassing" and is homeless.
Thacker allegedly drove "in a reckless manner and at an unsafe rate of speed""Alcohol has been an issue throughout his life, but it never resulted in any violence," Mr. Scolaro said. "If anything, it only hurt him." According to the claim and footage taken from inside the van, Sanchez-Mayen was handcuffed and put in the back of the vehicle without a seatbelt.
According to the lawsuit, Thacker drove "in a reckless manner and at an unsafe rate of speed" before abruptly stopping hard at a purported red light. The suit and the video show that Sanchez-Mayen was pushed forward following the violent stop, and his head contacted a metal divider.
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