Cleveland Police Beat a Teenager in Front of Tower City in March, a Lawsuit Claims

It was a little after school let out when Theodore Jenkins, Jr.’s teenage son was hanging out with friends in front of Tower City Center on March 12.

The hang quickly turned sour: a fight broke out nearby. Cleveland Police were called and showed up to quell the disturbance. When more officers arrived, they noticed a female officer on the ground—she had been tripped, she told the officers, by one of the nearby teenagers.

Jenkin’s son was in their targets, a lawsuit filed April 10 claims, even though he did nothing wrong and wasn’t the one who tripped the cop.

The teenager was struck in the head by another officer with a baton, according to the complaint filed by his father, “even though [he] did not do anything to provoke such a reaction by the officers.” Additionally, the suit notes, the female officer told him he had “misheard her” and that Jenkin’s son wasn’t involved.

Such a mistake cost Jenkin’s son, the suit says, quite a lot: He suffered a concussion and “various musculoskeletal injuries” that prevented him from keeping up good grades and fully participating on his AAU basketball team.

The city and CPD “permitted, tolerated, and was deliberately indifferent to a pattern a practice of excessive force by its police officers at and around the time of plaintiff’s injury,” the complaint reads.

“This widespread tolerance of excessive force by police officers constituted a municipal policy, practice, or custom and led to plaintiff’s assault and injury,” it added.

Claims of Cleveland cops using excessive force, especially against Black youth, bring up a potentially tumultuous tone in light of questions surrounding Cleveland’s current Consent Decree with the Department of Justice.

Despite announced improvements over the last decade, federal oversight of the department and its some 1,137 remains, even though the Trump administration has signaled a willingness to prematurely end such agreements across the country.

Sen. Bernie Moreno himself has considered recommending ending such decrees, Cleveland.com reported in February, which could prompt action by Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency later this year.

The city nor Cleveland Police have not yet responded to the complaint in U.S. District Court, where the suit was filed April 10. They have about two months to do so.

A spokesperson for the city said, “We were just recently served with this lawsuit. We are reviewing the allegations and will respond accordingly in court. “

You can read the full complaint below: