Trending
Source: Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty
A Dallas Black man is suing the city and multiple police officers after he says he was beaten and tased by police after cops mistook him for a domestic violence suspect who had a similar name.
According to NBC News, Silvester Hayes, 27, filed a federal lawsuit last week after an October 2021 encounter with police led to him losing his home and job as a security guard, according to the lawsuit.
“It knocked me all the way down,” Hayes said in a video statement. “It kind of ruined my life,”
In the lawsuit, Silvester Hayes says he was driving to a restaurant near his home to get breakfast for his children when Dallas officers Walter Paul Guab and Holly Harris pulled him over for failing to signal at a stop sign.
Silvester Hayes believes he was racially profiled and called the officers’ motives for pulling him over “suspicious” and “obviously manufactured.”
Once officers pulled Hayes over, he complied and gave Guab his driver’s license, also telling the officers he had a lawfully registered firearm with him.
Guab then decided not to run Harris’ driver’s license through the police database, thinking he was someone he was not. According to the lawsuit, the officer mistook Hayes for a man named “Sylvester,” who had a family violence warrant. Guab’s demeanor became aggressive and she tried to open Haye’s driver-side door. “Alarmed by this sudden escalation in aggression,” Hayes repeatedly asked what was happening, according to the suit.
When other officers arrived on the scene, the incident escalated again when they began screaming “gun” after spotting Hayes’ firearm in his vehicle.
“In a proverbial case of gasoline being poured on a fire, having multiple Dallas Police Officers yelling ‘gun’ only escalated the Officers’ use of excessive force on Plaintiff Hayes,” the suit says. “Instead of providing Plaintiff Hayes with an explanation for forcibly removing him from his vehicle, Defendant Officers Guab and Harris escalated their use of force against Plaintiff Hayes.”
The suit also claims that body camera video shows officers pulling Hayes out of his car and smashing his head against the curb before placing him in handcuffs. Officers are also accused of kicking, punching and using their taser on Hayes. One officer can be seen with his knee on Hayes’ neck, according to the lawsuit.
Silvester Hayes was charged with resisting arrest and unlawful possession of a weapon. He was held in jail for several days and according to the lawsuit, his charges were not dismissed until over a year later.
SEE ALSO:
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson Switches To Republican Party Months After Winning Reelection As A Democrat
Texas White Man Caught On Video Hurling Racial Slurs At Black Woman After Road Rage Incident
The post ‘Ruined My Life’: Dallas Black Man Beaten And Tased By Police After Mistaken Identity, Says Lawsuit appeared first on NewsOne.
‘Ruined My Life’: Dallas Black Man Beaten And Tased By Police After Mistaken Identity, Says Lawsuit was originally published on newsone.com
Dwight Howard Reportedly Admits To Hooking Up With Man From Instagram, Denies He Forced a Threesome
Rest In Power: Notable Black Folks Who We’ve Lost In 2023
Lil’ Kim Pulled Her Face Card On Instagram And It Did Not Decline
Cheesecake Factory Date Goes Viral After Woman Refuses To Get Out Of The Car
Halle Bailey Didn’t Announce Rumored Pregnancy Despite Misplaced Glamour Quote
Creamy Crack Be Gone: FDA Proposes To Ban Relaxers But Watch How Companies Advertised To Black Women For Years
Jonathan Majors’ Prosecutors Unveil Details Behind London Police Incident
Posted on the Carpet at the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards | Exclusive Interviews [WATCH]
An Urban One Brand
Copyright © 2023 Interactive One, LLC. All Rights Reserved.