CLAIM: MAN CALLED POLICE FOR HELP, WAS TACKLED, INJURED

A San Diego man called police after he was attacked by a stranger last year, but instead of seeking the attacker, responding officers tackled the man, knocking out some of his teeth and arresting him, according to a claim he filed with the city.

Stephen Keith, a 32year-old Black U.S. Navy veteran who was on crutches at the time, described the police use of force in a claim he filed with the city of San Diego on Oct. 11. Keith is seeking more than $25,000 in damages for injuries, pain and suffering, legal costs and lost wages, and unspecified punitive damages.

Gregory Peacock, an Orange County-based attorney who is representing Keith, declined to comment.

Lt. Adam Sharki, spokesman for the San Diego Police Department, declined to comment, saying the department does not comment on open claims or pending litigation.

A claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.

According to the claim, the incident started when a stranger approached Keith on Keith’s property in Grantville to ask for a cigarette. Keith, who was on crutches while recovering from knee surgery, refused and the man violently attacked him.

Keith called police and four officers responded, according to the claim.

“When the San Diego Police Department officers arrived on scene, they immediately tackled Mr. Keith to the ground and began brutalizing Mr. Keith,” the claim said. “Prior to taking Mr.

Keith to the ground, the officers did not direct any order towards Mr. Keith and Mr. Keith did not do anything to cause a reasonable peace officer to believe that any force used on Mr. Keith would be justified.”

Though Keith did not struggle, kick or otherwise resist arrest, the officers continued to use force against him, according to the claim. One officer struck Keith in the back with his knee seven times, the claim said.

Once in custody, Keith was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries, including knocked-out teeth and an injured back, the claim said. Upon his release from the hospital, he was taken to jail and he later posted bail.

The county District Attorney’s Office did not file charges against Keith, according to the claim.

According to a use-offorce database maintained by the Police Department, San Diego police officers used force more than 38,000 times in more than 16,000 incidents from September 2016 through April 2021. More than a quarter of the time the subject was Black, even though Black residents make up only 6 percent of the city’s population. Keith is Black.

The incident happened a few months after the San Diego Police Department put into place a new de-escalation policy. The policy, which the city announced in June 2020, requires officers to use de-escalation techniques if safe and reasonable — and to intervene if they see another officer using unreasonable force.