Homeless man sues Orange County Sheriff’s Office for excessive use of force

Homeless man sues over arrest in Orange County

A homeless man says video of his arrest shows Orange County deputies using excessive force against him. Now he is taking legal action and suing the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Body camera footage shows tense moments during an arrest in the early morning hours of April 21, 2020.

According to the arrest report, Orange County deputies found Roosevelt Davis, 51, who is homeless, walking on the street in southwest Orlando during the COVID-19 curfew hours. When deputies went to place Davis under arrest, the video shows a scuffle.

Deputies get him to the ground but struggle to get handcuffs on him. Minutes later, back-up arrives, and several deputies are seen striking Davis. One deputy can be seen kneeling on Davis’ss upper back. Davis repeatedly asked the deputy several times to get off of him because he can’t breathe. Once he is handcuffed, the deputy released the pressure.

"If they had kneeled on him for two more minutes, what would have happened?" said Chris Waggener, Davis' attorney.

Waggener is representing Davis in a lawsuit filed against the sheriff’s office and several deputies.

"The treatment that they give to him, to an American citizen, a citizen of Orange County who isn’t being aggressive in any way, it was just enraging. I was furious for hours after the first time that I saw it. It was almost unbelievable to me," Waggener said.

(Courtesy: Orange County Sheriff's Office)

The lawsuit alleges excessive use of force by the deputies and failure to train and supervise by Sheriff John Mina.

"When he’s already on the ground, face down, he’s got two deputies on top of him, controlling him. He’s not going anywhere," Waggener said.

But the sheriff’s office's internal investigation concluded Davis resisted arrest and the deputies used proper control techniques.

"What they did wasn’t OK and they get a lot of leeway as law enforcement, not just in the State of Florida but in the United States at large, and enough is enough," Waggener said.

The attorney plans to serve the lawsuit next week.

FOX 35 News reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment, but it wouldn’t comment on the pending lawsuit.

View the pending lawsuit: