Two Louisville Metro Police officers are accused in a lawsuit of targeting a man with no basis and using excessive force, including pointing a gun at him.
Jahmael Benedict, 21, filed the lawsuit this month in Jefferson Circuit Court. He was arrested last January on two felony charges of receiving stolen property of a firearm and receiving stolen property valued at or above $10,000. In June, a grand jury returned no true bill, meaning he was not indicted and his criminal case was subsequently dismissed.
Claims made in a lawsuit represent only one side of a case.
Benedict was accused of stealing a 2020 Kia that had been reported stolen near the 1600 block of Williams E. Summers III Avenue in Park DuValle, according to the lawsuit. He had just left a friend’s apartment around 3 p.m. Jan. 6, 2023, and was walking down the street with his iPhone and charger in hand when police approached, it says.
The Kia had been reported as parked on the block, the lawsuit says.
As Benedict was walking, Officer Bailey Rodgers exited an unmarked police car with his gun drawn and told Benedict to “get on the f—— ground, get the f— down on the ground, or words to that effect,” according to the lawsuit.