A lawsuit is being filed on behalf of Le'Keian Woods, a Black driver who was brutally beaten by Jacksonville sheriff's officers during an arrest, per First Coast News.
Woods, 24, was arrested on September 29, 2023 after trying to flee from officers during a traffic stop. According to attorneys, Woods was pulled over for "an alleged seatbelt violation."
A police report stated that Woods was struck 17 times during the arrest. Bystander video showed officers standing and kneeling over Woods. At one point during the arrest, one officer picked Woods up and slammed him into the ground. Wood's' mugshot photo showing his beaten face and eyes swollen shut went viral.
Woods was initially arrested on charges relating to drug trafficking and possession, resisting police, and tampering with evidence. The State Attorney's Office later declined to pursue the drug-related charges. In a plea deal struck in April, Woods pleaded guilty to resisting an officer without violence, while the remaining charges were dropped.
Four Jacksonville sheriff's officers involved in the arrest, including Detective Beau P. Daigle, now-former Detective Josue Garriga, Detective Trey McCullough, and Detective Hunter Sullivan, are all named in the lawsuit.
"The Defendants' [officers'] actions and use of force, as described herein, were also malicious and/or involved reckless, callous, and deliberate indifference to Mr. Woods’ federally protected rights," the lawsuit states. "The force used by the Defendants shocks the conscience and violated the Fourth Amendment right of Mr. Woods."
According to the suit, Wood "continues to suffer ongoing emotional distress, with significant PTSD type symptoms, including sadness, anxiety, stress, anger, depression, frustration, sleeplessness, nightmares, and flashbacks from his assault."
"I wanna be very clear, we're not filing this lawsuit just for the appeasement of Le'Keian, on his mother, on his family, this lawsuit has been filed to try to seek a measure of justice," Woods' attorney, Harry Daniels, said in a statement. "A measure of justice that as a man, or a jury, or a judge can only give to one. I think that it's time that we acknowledge that something is fundamentally wrong with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office."
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