DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Wayne County jury has ruled against a Dearborn Police Department officer for violating constitutional rights after an arrest in 2018, awarding the 25-year-old plaintiff with $9.3 million.
The confrontation began in a White Castle when 20-year-old Luther Gonzalez-Hall was lost riding his bike home from a friend's house. He went inside and asked the employees for directions after asking a nearby police officer the same question.
“I told you where it was at right?" the officer can be heard asking Gonzales-Hall on the body camera.
"Yeah," Gonzales-Hall responded.
"So why are you in here asking the same thing?" the officer responded.
It was this moment, Gonzales-Hall and his attorney Azzam Elder say, that everything changed.
"I think he was having a bad day, took it out on me,” Gonzales-Hall said.
“When we saw the video, it was very clear that the officer had lost his temper,” Elder said. "The officer was upset with Luther because he asked for directions and when Luther did not accept his directions, the officer felt empowered to take it out on him.”
Gonzales-Hall tried to leave the White Castle on his bike, and the officer followed. Eventually, both end up in a struggle on the ground.
“What did I do? I'm sorry, what did I do? I was just asking for directions, bro,” Gonzales-Hall can be heard saying on the body camera footage.
With the body camera knocked to the ground, Gonzales-Hall says he was being choked and was able to run off. His eventual arrest led to severe injuries that resulted in broken bones, multiple surgeries and lifelong injuries.
“It hurts to even walk up the stairs or walk up anywhere," Gonzales-Hall said. "My foot swells up real bad, it was broken in like five spots.”
This week in Wayne County Circuit Court five years later, a jury sided with Gonzales-Hall with a verdict of $9.3 million.
“When you cross the line and you violate constitutional rights, those rights are going to have a lot of value. And in this case, the value was $9.3 million,” Elder said. "People just see a big number and think, oh he was just riding his bike, and lucky him. This is not lucky.”
Elder says his client tried to de-escalate, but the officer escalated and in the process violated Gonzales-Hall's constitutional rights. Elder says charges for resisting arrest were eventually dropped.
“Yes, he had something to drink. He was at a friends house, but you don't do that," Elder said. "This young man now has to walk around with a limp because of the surgeries he’s had, and all of that was preventable if the officer kept his cool and just given him a ride home.”
“I'm just happy that people who didn’t even know me gave me justice,” Gonzales-Hall said. “I just don't want it to happen to somebody else.”
Elder says the verdict can be appealed. A spokesperson for the city of Dearborn says it will not comment since there could be pending litigation.
