Le’Keian Woods, beaten in viral arrest video, is suing Florida officers

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

Advocates for Le’Keian Woods25, said in the lawsuit that Woods suffered a type of traumatic brain injury, a ruptured kidney, nerve damage and other injuries from the September 2023 arrest, which resulted in a misdemeanor conviction for resisting the police without violence. The incident was filmed by a bystander, showing Woods handcuffed with swollen eyes and a bloodied face.

“All of this was unjustified,” attorney Harry Daniels said of the police actions, which included punching, kneeing and elbowing Woods after he ran from a police traffic stop and was Tasered.

Joining his attorneys at a news conference Thursday, Woods said he ran because he feared he would be shot during the traffic stop. He said he does not regret the decisions made that day. Police reports at the time indicated that Woods had been hit at least 17 times.

The process did not allege wrongdoing by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, only individual officers. The suit alleges 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. Officers could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

The incident sparked local and national outrage after the video went viral on social media. In the weeks after the incident, a social justice organization in Jacksonville and Woods’ family rallied to denounce the officers’ actions and demand an end to police brutality, according to First Coast News.

Complaints about the arrest briefly reached US Department of Justicewho said they were “monitoring” the case. But in November 2023, the department halted its review, saying “the incident does not give rise to a prosecutable violation of federal civil rights laws.”

What happened to Le’Keian Woods?

Bystander video showed officers arresting Woods after the traffic stop, in which at least three officers were seen forcibly restraining Woods on the grass next to a vehicle. Daniels said Woods was beaten by officers after he was pulled over for an alleged seat belt violation.

Officers claimed they saw Woods engage in 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 followed Woods and his two friends, who were in a pickup truck, to a dead end in an apartment complex alley.

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

Sullivan then chased after Woods and deployed his Taser, the report said. Three of the officers — Sullivan, Garriga and McCullough — repeatedly kicked and kneed Woods while trying to handcuff him.

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

But those allegations were later fell after his lawyer argued that Woods was only a passenger in the truck and could not be connected to drugs. He pleaded guilty to resisting arrest without violence and was sentenced to nine days in jail.

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY