Black man called 911 to report intruder. Cops tased him instead, California suit says
A Black documentary filmmaker called 911 to report an intruder in his California apartment.
But when cops arrived, they tased him instead, a lawsuit says.
Damien Smith, who directed “Target: St. Louis Vol. 1,” a documentary examining the accusations of the U.S. military’s secret chemical testing on predominantly Black residents of northern St. Louis, filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department on June 15.
The lawsuit says Smith returned to his apartment, where he’s lived for 10 years, in Hollywood at around 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2021, when he saw an “uninvited intruder” standing in his home holding some of his belongings.
Smith called 911, and officers with the Los Angeles Police Department arrived at around 1:30 a.m., the lawsuit says.
The officers pointed their taser guns at Smith and ordered him to get on the ground, the lawsuit says.
Smith said, “I live here. I called 911,” but the officers tased him three times, the lawsuit says. He was struck once in the chest and twice in the back.
“At the time that he was tased, Mr. Smith was standing inside of his home, unarmed, and was not posing a threat to the safety or welfare of (the officers),” the lawsuit says.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said the department wouldn’t comment on pending litigation.
After tasing him, officers placed Smith in handcuffs and escorted him into a patrol car parked on the street, the lawsuit says.
Several community members saw Smith being taken to the patrol car and told officers that he lived there and they “had arrested the wrong person,” the lawsuit says.
Smith was not charged after the incident, according to the LA Times. Another man was arrested at Smith’s apartment, and he was convicted of burglary in July 2022, the outlet reported.
He suffered injuries to his chest, back and nervous system and also experienced embarrassment and public ridicule, according to the lawsuit.
The officers “racially-profiled” Smith and followed police practices in which officers “over-react to Black people, whom they wrongly assume to be criminals,” the lawsuit says.
“The physical pain, emotional distress and embarrassment that Mr. Smith endured at the hands of (the officers) remains to this day,” the lawsuit says.
Smith and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment from McClatchy News.
At the time of the incident, Smith was working on a documentary about police brutality called “Searching for Officer Friendly,” according to the LA Times.
He told the outlet that he was having difficulty continuing his work on the film because of his personal experience with the police.
“To do a documentary about policing, you have to deal with policing, and I’m traumatized by dealing with police,” Smith told the LA Times. “Right now, it is really hard.”
Smith’s documentary “Target: St. Louis Vol. 1” was released in 2021.
Smith told Medium in 2020 that he was inspired to make the film after his grandmother sent him an article about the alleged chemical testing that took place in St. Louis in the 1950s and ’60s. He wanted to bring awareness to the issue.
Smith is also an actor and has appeared in “The Purge” and “Snowfall.”
Smith’s lawsuit accuses the Los Angeles Police Department of false arrest, assault and battery and intentional infliction of mental distress, violation of civil rights and inadequate training, among other claims. He is seeking damages of an unspecified amount.
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