in a quiet neighborhood chaos erupted when police were called to the home of a 71-year-old man open the door open the door his wife battling dementia mistakenly called 911 alleging he shot her what the hell did you call him for I thought you shot me what but his officers arrived they immediately escalated the situation trying to kick the door in first and ask questions later [Music] I'll be back I got a sledge in my truck open the door let's see your hands when the homeowner answered the door they forcibly pulled him out in his bathrobe and threw him down his home's front steps injuring him and then they lied about it okay and he was non- compliant so we told him to step outside he wouldn't step outside came out he lost his footing fell to the ground What followed was a legal battle that just ended in a sixf fig settlement how did a root morning having coffee in your robe spiral into a nightmare it involves serious problems at this particular Police Department on a large scale that were recently exposed in a federal investigation let's dive in and within 4 seconds I was flying off the porch that that's how much time they give me and they said I failed to [Music] comply this video brings us to Louisville Kentucky a vibrant City nestled along the the Ohio River with a population of over 600,000 residents Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky known for its Rich history iconic bourbon distilleries and home to the legendary Kentucky Derby Louisville offers a blend of Southern Charm and urban excitement the city merged with Jefferson County in 2003 to create a co-extensive Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government Frank sarap piglia was in his kitchen drinking coffee and reading the news one morning in September when he heard yelling and he noticed several police officers outside his home with their guns [Music] drawn back I got a sledge in my truck that person coming to the door got one coming to the door going upstairs I don't know I can't see might just went upstairs try door open the door open the door that's him subject he's inside come to the door come to the door open the door open the door let's see your hands come out here see your hands 71-year-old Sarah piglia thought that the officers must be pursuing a suspect who was just running through his neighborhood but then he heard banging on his front door so he went to his front door and as he was opening it stand Standing There in his bathrobe a police officer reached in his house grabbed him and threw him out his door and onto the pavement below his front steps where he landed face first body cam footage captured the whole thing get on the effing ground an officer yelled as another officer handcuffed him and kneel on his back I got you backbody someone here's Cuffs startse in the house put cffs are your wife anybody else what's wrong with your wife I can't breathe I got there's one give your other hand give us your other hand [Music] nuts and you B what the hell is your deal Jesus Christ police were responding to a 911 call that was made by Sarah Pia's wife while he was downstairs the woman had called 911 in a delusional State claiming that her husband had shot her in the head according to the lawsuit as Mrs Sarah piglia is brought downstairs and outside disheveled but not hurt an officer reported to dispatch that there was no shooting Sarah piglia asked his wife why she called now and one I thought you shot me she quietly responds what the hell did you call him for I thought you shot me what Sarah pigley explained to the police that his wife had previously been hospitalized had seizures and mental health issues sadly she died just a few months later so Mr Sarah piglia was left with broken bones and other injuries he filed a lawsuit and although this incident happened and I believe the lawsuit was filed back in late 2019 it just now settled for $250,000 and it must have been a Kentucky State Court lawsuit because I tried to look it up on Pacer and found no record of it it would be extremely unlikely for a federal section 1983 case to have lasted that long out of that $250,000 settlement lmpd was responsible for paying all but $5,000 of that amount I presume that the remaining $55,000 may have been one of the officers I don't know the body cam footage also shows that after this incident happened the officers basically lied about what they just just did already starting to cover it up he was non-compliant we told him to step outside he wouldn't step outside in lmpd officer said back in 2019 on that body cam video so we grabbed him to pull him out he lost his footing and fell to the ground step over here sorry so nobody kicked the door in he oh okay he went by us and then started going up steps so we started ordering through the door to come down open the door open the door uh we giving him command to get on the ground okay and he was non-compliant so we told him to step outside he wouldn't step outside so Bill grabbed him came out he lost his footing fell to the ground okay and then we just basically took him in the cuss all right I I was told that you all kick the door in Jtown initially started get the door and it wouldn't wouldn't Force so want to go get alternative NE okay and we initially saw him go up the stairs we started again trying to gain answer he was top of the St come door like what are y'all [ __ ] doing here and then he ended up coming down to the door and we gave him several commands over and finally okay come out get on ground P him out and he lost his fo but in reality not only did the officer pull him out of his house but also pushed him forward he actually not only pull me out and then he pushed me down and forward which was totally crazy and according to Mr Sarah piglia none of these officers were disciplined for what they did did any of these officers get disciplined for what they did from what I understand I don't think they did then on March 13th of 2020 that was the B Taylor shooting also involving the lmpd as a result of that bringing attention to the lmpd on April 26 2021 the Department of Justice open investigation into the Louisville metric and lmpd um with the Civil Rights division special litigation section where I actually used to work then March 8th 2023 they issued this report titled investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Metro Government they concluded that the Louisville Metro and lmpd are engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law They concluded that the lmpd uses excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment as they note in the report the fourth amendment protects people from the use of excessive force and an officer's use of force must be objectively reasonable in light of the totality of the circumstances the courts will consider one the severity of the crime two whether the suspect poses an immediate threat and three whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade those are known as the gram factors they found that officers in this agency routinely use Force disproportionate to the threat or resistance posed officers use Force simply because people do not immediately follow their orders even when those people are not physically resisting officers or posing a threat to anyone at times officers use Force to inflict punishment or to retaliate against those challenging their Authority in violation of both the first and fourth amendments lmpd officers also have used unreasonable Force against peaceful protest people with disabilities and teenagers and that is exactly what happened here is violent force was immediately used against this man the 71y old man because in their opinion in the officer's opinion he didn't immediately follow their orders like instantly without even thinking of the possibility that you're dealing with an elderly man who doesn't quite know what's going on and here's another one that's on point lmpd officers unnecessarily escalate encounters leading to excessive force lmpd officers routinely rush into encounters without adequately weighing the threat or resistance presented by the individual involved they not only fail to deescalate the situations they face but in fact engage in escalating behavior that startles confuses or angers the individuals they encounter this often leads to the use of force both lethal and less lethal that is unwarranted or disproportionate under this EX under the circumstances and isn't that exactly what they did here this man saw police officers outside his house banging on his door he goes to the door he doesn't know what's happening he's confused he thinks maybe they're chasing somebody through his yard and they immediately escalate instead of just using common sense and learning the facts and communicating with the man and the fact that they unnecessarily do that and they escalate the encounter that led to him them using violence on him and the man being injured to be clear I'm not disputing the fact that if there's a 911 call saying that the man's wife had been shot by her husband that the cops can't show up and bust in bust down the door without a warrant they are absolutely justified in doing that there was no problem with them trying to bust through the door to go in and save somebody that is one of the exceptions to the general warrant requirement the homeowner came to the door and then rather than acting reasonably rather than asking him questions they just completely pulled him out and threw him on the ground and there was no need to do that because he was wearing his robe um they could see his hands whether or not he raised his hands immediately just because someone called 911 that doesn't mean that he's been convicted he's innocent until proven guilty this is why red flag laws are so dangerous this is why swatting is so dangerous because police officers sometimes will just rely on an unreliable 911 call or report and go ballistic but it's not reasonable to use violence against any individual just based solely on some random Anonymous or unreliable or confusing 911 call rather than take make any attempt at learning anything these officers chose violence first and that's consistent with what the doj found in the report and I think if the do doj did a deep dive investigation into agencies all across the country really they'd find the same thing police officers using unnecessary Force where supervisors are doing little to no review I guarantee it's happening all over the country and look what happens here you take law- abing citizens with no criminal history they've done nothing wrong you sour their relationship with the police then they wonder why people don't trust the police anymore I used to have the utmost respect for police officers but not anymore no no more but really what they're learning is is that they never should have in the first place why because it's not about the personalities it's about this is a government you don't just knee-jerk trust the government you could have police officers you're dealing with who are nice guys or they could be bad guys you don't know you never want to assume but you know you're dealing with a government government and the government will always try to screw you if it can and unfortunately this guy learned the hard way so thanks for watching please subscribe here and at the blog at the Civil Rights lawyer.com if you have a video you want me to review use the submission link below remember our rights don't end where your fear begins freedom is scary deal with it [Music]