LARGO, Md. — The family of Demonte Ward-Blake, who was allegedly beaten and paralyzed by Prince George's County police during an arrest, is filing a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday against the county.
Members of Ward-Blake's family along with Attorney Billy Murphy announced the filing of the Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit in the Case of Demonte Ward-Blake vs. Prince George's County Government. Murphy said their goal is to make sure all elected officials act with a sense of urgency on policing in the county as they ask the jury to award damages to the Ward-Blake family.
"This lawsuit is a comprehensive indictment of the brutal, unlawful, racist practices of the Prince George's County Police Department," said Murphy.
Murphy added that he believes the police department and county have consistently ignored the effects of its harmful use of excessive force.
A spokesman for county government declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday.
The lawsuit lists dozens of alleged police abuses dating back to the 1960s and alleges a decades-long "pattern and practice" of police abuse fueled by racism.
The suit claims that despite an agreement with the US Department of Justice to rein in abuse, commanders between 2016 and 2019 “internally sabotaged” a system of training and oversight that had been set up for the early identification of potential problem officers.
The officer in the ward Blake case “was never properly flagged"... "despite having used force against county citizens nearly 30 times from 2016 to 2019”, the lawsuit claims.
In 2019, Ward-Blake, who was 24 years old at the time, was left paralyzed from the waist down when he landed on his head subsequent to a police takedown maneuver during the arrest, according to the lawsuit.
In that case, police said Ward-Blake resisted officers after being pulled over for expired tags. Police said when the officer approached the car, he could smell marijuana and asked Ward-Blake if he had drugs in the vehicle. Police said he told him he had smoked earlier in the day. They said the officer also noticed that there was a young girl in the backseat.
Police said Ward-Blake kept reaching toward his center console, when the officer grabbed his gun as a defensive measure, he started screaming. That's when police said the officer called for backup. When two other police officers arrived, they placed Ward-Blake in handcuffs, according to officials.
Police said Ward-Blake “elbowed” an officer while being placed in handcuffs. In response, officers performed a takedown on Ward-Blake, during which they say he landed on his neck.
Ward-Blake was rushed to the hospital, where he was discovered to be paralyzed from the waist down from injuries sustained in the impact. He also suffered a broken nose.
Both officers involved in the incident were indicted by a grand jury. One of the officers, Bryant Strong is now facing several charges including second-degree assault.
The lawyers representing the case are a part of a Baltimore-based law firm recognized for representing high-profile civil rights cases such as the Freddie Gray, Jr. case and William H. Green case. They've achieved historic settlements of $6.4 million and $20 million for federal and state civil rights violations.
The latest lawsuit is seeking $75 million.
