CNN
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An unarmed Black man who was shot and killed by a Shreveport, Louisiana, police officer had previously sued the police department, alleging excessive force, according to a lawsuit obtained by CNN.
Alonzo Bagley, 43, was killed earlier this month after officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex, according to Louisiana State Police. When police arrived, Bagley jumped down from an apartment balcony and fled, and after a brief foot chase, one officer fatally shot Bagley – who was later found to be unarmed, state police said.
The officer is on paid administrative leave, and the state police are investigating the incident, which includes reviewing the officer’s body worn camera.
Documents show Bagley had a previous run-in with Shreveport police, years before he was killed.
Twelve months after Shreveport police allegedly assaulted Bagley during an arrest in January of 2018, he filed a federal lawsuit against the department.
Bagley required “treatment of a broken occipital orbital eye-socket bones, contusions to the head and face, and a number of his front upper teeth knocked out,” the suit says.
During the 2018 incident, officers responded to a domestic dispute between Alonzo and his wife, the complaint states.
Bagley was put into handcuffs that “were placed too tightly” on him and he “maneuvered his hands to the front of his body due to the pain and discomfort of being handcuffed behind his back in the back passenger portion of an SPD (Shreveport Police Department) patrol car,” the suit says. According to the filing, he “was not attempting and did not attempt to escape but only rearranged himself out of the painful position he was in.”
One police officer then opened the door and “delivered forceful and several close-fisted strikes to the head and face” and a second officer did not stop the assault, the suit says. Bagley was handcuffed the entire time and offered no resistance, the lawsuit says.
In response to the complaint, the city said that one of its officers did open the door of the patrol car, but was assisting Bagley because he was “attempting to strangle or choke himself with the seatbelt.”
The city went on to say the officer did strike Bagley’s “head and facial area when Plaintiff (Bagley) covered his head with his arms and prevented Officer Kolb from removing the seatbelt and removing Plaintiff from the vehicle.”
It is unclear what the resolution was on the lawsuit.
An attorney that represented Bagley in the case did not return calls from CNN seeking comment.
Bagley was charged with domestic abuse battery and resisting an officer related to the incident. The domestic abuse charge was dismissed, and he pleaded guilty in February 2018 to the charge of resisting an officer, according to court records.
CNN has requested comment from the police department, and filed an open records request with the city to find out more about the 2018 incident.
Alexander Tyler – the officer who shot and killed Bagley this month – was not with the department when the 2018 incident occurred.
Bagley’s family has sued Tyler, seeking more than $10 million in damages, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. The lawsuit alleges that the office violated Alonzo Bagley’s Fourth Amendment rights.
Louisiana State Police says the case is still under investigation.
