From [HERE] and [MORE] A Black man has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Ramsey County and its sheriff's office, accusing deputies of using excessive force and violating his civil rights during a 2020 mistaken identity incident.

Michael Torrey-White, 67, and his attorney Paul Bosman allege that four officers named in the lawsuit mistook Torrey-White for a suspect in his late 30s, knocking him unconscious and allegedly assaulting him while making a wrongful arrest.

After the arrest, Torrey-White stated he was going to file a complaint against the arresting officers. He then found out an allegedly falsified police report was filed against him in the February 2020 incident, charging Torrey-White with obstructing the legal process and disorderly conduct nine days after he filed a complaint against the deputies.

Body camera footage of the arrest was requested as Torrey-White fought the charges. In July, the charges were dropped due to authorities not turning in video evidence from that night. Torrey-White and is attorney are accusing the deputies of malicious prosecution as a result.

According to the lawsuit, on Feb. 28, 2020, the sheriff's office received information about a fight taking place in a parking lot near an apartment complex where Torrey-White and his daughter live separately in Falcon Heights. The description of the suspect police were looking for was given as "African American, in his late 30s, wearing a black hoodie, black pants and a hat with the letters LSW on it."

Torrey-White went outside to the parking lot at the time to check on his daughter's truck, after she called Ramsey County Dispatch to report someone "dodging a vehicle in the parking lot." The 67-year-old went outside without his hearing aids inserted, according to federal court documents.

It's noted in the filing that Torrey-White was wearing "a white shirt and brown windbreaker jacket" at the time, with no hat. None of the 911 callers reported the suspect using a walker, either.

One of the deputies responding to the area "pushed Mr. Torrey-White into a brick wall, hitting his head and back against the wall." That's when Torrey-White lost consciousness, according to the lawsuit. He then woke up to being handcuffed with the officer allegedly putting weight on the man's back, making it difficult for Torrey-White to breathe.

When he asked what he had done wrong, the arresting officer told Torrey-White to "shut up." Three other deputies responded to the scene, stating that the man "was being detained." Torrey-White also claimed that one of the female officers at the scene inappropriately touched him in his private parts, asking him "what's this?" 

After scattering his belongings from his walker and finding nothing, one of the deputies eventually took handcuffs off of Torrey-White and let him go. He suffered head and back injuries during the incident, according to the lawsuit.

After Torrey-White filed a complaint with Internal Affairs, he faced charges "without probable cause and without reasonable belief that the prosecution will succeed."