Suit says White St. Paul Cops Hit Compliant Black Man in Face w/Shotgun & Stomped his Head Causing Brain Damage & Broken Bones in Face

In photo new St. Paul police chief Todd Axtell. White supremacy/racism is carried out primarily through deception - many many lies & false appearances. Axtell was not chief when the following episode unfolded.

From [HERE] A Black man is suing the city and several of its police officers alleging that they struck him in the head with a shotgun and “kicked or stomped” him so badly he suffered a traumatic brain injury and “massive facial trauma.”

Michael Fleming, 31, filed a suit in federal court against the city of St. Paul, police Sgt. Mike Dunaski and five unnamed officers who executed a search warrant at an apartment in the 900 block of Edgerton Street on Oct. 13, 2011. 

“He got his skull beat in for no valid reason, and someone should have to be held accountable for that,” said one of Fleming’s attorneys, Scott Swanson. Swanson said they filed the case six years later “so he could be heard” before the statute of limitations expires.

Fleming’s suit alleges that the officers violated his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights covering unreasonable search, seizure and excessive force. It also alleges that officers at the scene did not intervene.

Swanson said he will identify the other officers as litigation proceeds and more police documents are made available. Fleming declined to comment.

Fleming was never charged with a crime related to the search, and continues to suffer emotionally and mentally from the experience, Swanson said. The titanium used to rebuild his eye socket has made certain outdoor manual labor jobs difficult, Swanson said, because it gets cold in the wintertime and hot in the summertime.

According to the suit and Swanson: Fleming was at the apartment with 10-plus others who had gathered in the days following a funeral for Fleming’s godbrother. Fleming did not live there and was not the subject of the search warrant.

At approximately 7:46 pm that evening, the apartment was raided by several police oflicers, including Dunaski and John Doe's l-5. The officers were a part of or assisting the East District FORCE unit, which was executing a search warrant at  the address. 

When the officers burst in, Fleming, along with others, was in the kitchen. Fleming did not reach for a gun, and despite offering no resistance to the oflicers, either verbally of physically, he was struck in the head with a shotgun by Defendant Dunaski.

When he fell to the gmund after being hit on his head and still offering no resistance, Fleming was further assaulted by the officers, including Defendant Dunaski. In particular, his head was kicked or stomped by the officers, all of whom on information and belief wear steel -toed shoes, causing his  head to be further hit as it pounded into the metal cabinets that were attached to the counter.

While he was stilt on the ground, Fleming was further assaulted and stomped about his head and body by officers, including Defendant Dunaski; during that part of the assault, he was struck with a flashlight and,  at one point, was even tasered.

Despite the brutality of the oflicers' assault of him, Fleming continued to offer no verbal or physical resistance.

Fleming was seen to be bleeding everywhere from his face  as a result of the injuries hc sustained in his beating; in his injured and dazed state,  he was further  seen to spit up blood from his mouth. When that happened,  an officer kneed him in his  chest, exclaiming "are you seriously gonna fucking spit on my shoe!"

White still battered, bleeding and obviously injured, Fleming was handcuffed and taken out of the apartment. 

At approximately 8:45 pm in October  13, 201l, Fleming arrived at Regions Hospital via EMS, where  he was hospitalized for three  days to diagnose  and treat the injuries he suffered during the police beating he endured earlier that evening. He presented at the hospital with very large swelling over the left side of his face and  eye, so much so that it was difficult to open the eyelids, as welt as bleeding from the nose and oropharynx' After being assessed, it was noted that, among other things, he had massive facial trauma with orbital swelling," which included various left orbital wall fracture orbital bruising, a left hyphema likely lacrimal canaliculi injury, and a probable nasal fracture. He was also admitted for  a TBI (traumatic brain injury) and acute respiratory failure.

On December 14  2011, Fleming returned  to Regions Hospital, accompanied by two St. Paul police officers. He complained of symptoms that included double vision numbness in his left cheek, and headaches. The assessment noted the significant trauma to his left  eye, suffered on October 13,  20 I I , including the "large orbital floor blowout fracture and  a medial wall fracturc." Further surgery was recommended.

On December 22,201 l, and while still suffering from double vision, Fleming had surgery to repair his eye-related injuries at Regions Hospital. The surgery procedure included open reduction internal fixation of the medial wall fracture and orbital fracture blowout using a titanium plate.