DALLAS — A former Dallas police officer is being sued in federal court after he reportedly assaulted a man, who now claims his fourth and fourteenth amendment rights were violated.
The suit is being filed by Jesus Lule against Melvin Williams. The suit claims Williams assaulted Lule on July 18, 2021 despite him not threatening or resisting Williams. The Dallas Police Department fired Williams on Jan. 25, 2022 for violating the department's use of force policy by assaulting Lule.
A month before he was fired, the suit details, criminal charges were filed against Williams for his reported assault of Lule. Video of the assault went viral at the time.
The assault is not the only criminal charge filed against Williams. In February 2022, criminal charges were filed against Williams and DPD Senior Cpl. Ryan Mabry for felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant as well as a misdemeanor charge of official oppression related to their actions during the George Floyd protests in Downtown Dallas in the summer of 2020.
Lule's latest suit, however, focuses solely on the alleged incident that took place July 18, 2021. On that date, the suit says, Lule was with friends in Deep Ellum when Williams responded to the scene of a fight unrelated to Lule.
When Lule went to help his female friend who was on the ground, the lawsuit states, Williams reportedly started to assault Lule unprovoked.
"Before even finishing his command of 'back your ass up,' Defendant Williams pushed Mr. Lule backward with enough force to cause him to stumble backward a couple steps," the suit reads.
According to the lawsuit, Williams then pushed Lule down and knocked him against a light pole before swinging punches on him without pause.
"At no time did Mr. Lule punch or attempt to punch Defendant Williams, either prior to Defendant Williams assaulting him or after Defendant Williams began assaulting him," the suit states.
Williams was seen by paramedics and taken to the hospital following the incident, the suit reads. According to an EMT report, Lule had blood on both of his ears and on his lips, and needed sutures to close a a cut on his left ear lobe.
The suit adds that the medical report noted Lule also had road rash on his face.
Lule was also issued a citation for public intoxication, but that charge was later dismissed in February 2022. The suit argues it was dismissed because he did not commit the crime of public intoxication.
Other Dallas officers spoke with Lule at his home following the assault and recorded the conversation, the suit states.
"When we saw that video of that officer standing over you punching you in the face, it pissed me off," one cop told Lule, according to the suit. "What I saw in the video is a man on his back getting assaulted by an officer... I’ve never been trained in 22 years that, when somebody gives me some lip, that I go hitting on them. That’s never right.”
The suit argues Williams deprived Lule of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure, while the Fourteenth Amendment protects citizens from being deprived of life, liberty or property without due process by the State.
"The amount of force used by Defendant Williams against Mr. Lule as described above, when Defendant Williams shoved Mr. Lule to the ground and then repeatedly punched Mr. Lule in the face, was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances and inflicted unnecessary injury, pain, and suffering upon Mr. Lule," the suit reads.
The suit argues that a reasonable officer in Williams' position would have known that shoving someone to the ground and repeatedly punching them, when that person is not threatening the officer or anyone else or resisting arrest, is clearly unreasonable and excessive.
Lule is seeking an undetermined amount of punitive damages and is asking for a jury trial.
WFAA reached out to DPD, who said they don't comment on pending litigation.
