Michael Fleming was standing in a kitchen inside a St. Paul apartment about six years ago when police officers burst into the unit with a search warrant and physically assaulted him without cause, according to a recently filed federal lawsuit.
The 31-year-old was visiting the residence at the time and wasn’t tied to the case that prompted the search, according to one of his attorneys.
Fleming also claims he never resisted officers’ actions at the apartment, but was assaulted and seriously injured anyway.
He is suing the city as well as several St. Paul police officers, claiming they violated his constitutional and civil rights during the 2011 incident.
“At no time did (Fleming) present himself as any kind of danger to anyone and did not resist (police) in any way. … He was simply standing in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Scott Swanson, one of his attorneys.
Fleming is also being represented by Paul Applebaum and Nicholas Rowley.
City officials deny the allegations outlined in the suit and said in their answer to the complaint that all of the actions taken by police officers during the incident were “authorized by the laws of the United States and the state of Minnesota.”
“Any injuries or damages sustained by (Fleming) were caused solely by reason of his willful and physical resistance to St. Paul Police Officers in the lawful performance of their duties,” the answer said.
City Attorney Sam Clark declined to comment Thursday. A St. Paul police spokesman said the department is unable to comment on pending litigation.
The alleged incident took place Oct. 13, 2011, when police officers with the city’s East District Force unit executed a search warrant at an apartment on the 900 block of Edgerton Street.
The reason for the raid was not disclosed in the suit.
Fleming and several others were reportedly inside the unit at the time, with some gathered in the kitchen.
Shortly after entering, police officer Mike Dunaski struck Fleming in the head with his gun, felling him to the floor, the suit says. That’s when he claims Dunaski and several other officers began repeatedly kicking him and stomping on his head.
“Despite the brutality of the officers’ assault on him, Fleming continued to offer no verbal or physical resistance,” the suit said.
He was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a handgun, according to police reports. Others at the apartment were arrested or cited as well for other conduct.
Bleeding and handcuffed, Fleming was taken to Regions Hospital. He was treated for “massive facial trauma” and a traumatic brain injury during his three-day stay and eventually needed a titanium plate inserted to repair a blowout to his left eye socket, according to the complaint.
He still suffers from headaches, dizziness, nightmares and fainting spells from his injuries, Swanson said.
The ongoing symptoms reportedly make it hard for him to work the manual-labor jobs he’s qualified for in the past.
Though he was never charged in relation to the incident in question, Swanson said, Fleming does have a criminal history.
He was convicted of giving false information to police and disorderly conduct in 2004, third-degree assault in 2008, unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from a separate case in 2011, and terroristic threats in 2016.
A pre-trial conference on his lawsuit will take place Dec. 19.
“We look forward to trying to vindicate our client’s rights,” Swanson said. “This is just another example of police acting out of control. … Not all cops are like this, but they have to tone things down.”
Of nine suits against St. Paul police, three have been dismissed and six settled this year, according to city records.
This year, the city paid out a record-setting $2 million to a man who sued after he was severely injured when a St. Paul police K-9 repeatedly bit him and an officer kicked him. The other settlements in police lawsuits this year totaled $64,900.
Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report.