Dwon Ellis Jr., a 31-year-old Black man from Florida, had just left the cemetery where he had been visiting his toddler son’s gravesite when he was pulled over for running two stop signs.
Jacksonville sheriff’s officer J.A. Hendricks first claimed to have smelled marijuana, then discovered Ellis was driving with a suspended license so he ordered him out of the car and handcuffed him.
Once handcuffed, Jacksonville sheriff’s officer T. Murphy slapped Ellis three times in the face while ordering him to “stop resisting” — but video evidence shows Ellis was not resisting.
Last week, Ellis filed a federal lawsuit against Hendricks and Murphy, accusing them of violating his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights through excessive force, failure to intervene and fabrication of evidence…