Federal lawsuit accuses MPD officers of targeting man for arrest following complaints
Several Minneapolis police officers are facing a lawsuit claiming they beat a man and filed a warrant on fabricated grounds, which led to a criminal case against him that was later dismissed.
Andre Moore filed the lawsuit in federal court Wednesday alleging multiple civil rights violations by officers Tony Partyka, Neal Walsh and two others.
The lawsuit says Moore, 51, was pulled over in December 2019 in front of a friend's house for an alleged turn signal violation. Moore said he was compliant, but officers escalated things during the stop.
He says he was kicked, thrown to the ground and elbowed, bloodying his face and breaking his nose. The lawsuit claims his injuries were so severe that he was denied entry to the Hennepin County Jail, and was taken to HCMC.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
He was eventually booked for obstruction of the legal process, a charge that was later dismissed.
Moore filed a complaint with the Minneapolis Police Department for his treatment by officers during the arrest. He never heard back on that complaint and filed another, and again did not hear back.
In early February, the lawsuit says officer Partyka applied for a search warrant of Moore’s home in an investigation he titled “Moore Money, Moore Problems,” an apparent reference to a Notorious B.I.G. song.
The warrant said Partyka had done a “trash pull” at Moore’s duplex, finding baggies with white substance in them. A warrant later found drugs in Moore’s home, according to the Star Tribune, but, as the paper reported, several questions were raised in court about how the warrant came together.
Among the issues found with the warrant included information provided by a confidential informant the officer cited in the filing.
The judge dismissed the case, saying there was no probable cause for the warrant, after Moore spent seven months in jail.
Moore’s lawsuit asks for compensatory and punitive damages.
In a statement, a Minneapolis spokesperson said the city attorney’s office was reviewing the lawsuit and declined further comment.