Excessive Force – True Story, Diabetic School Teacher Abused By Police

On September 2, 2004, the life of an Ohio grade school teacher was changed forever when he became the victim of police brutality, excessive force, and a violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. A tale of unfortunate events

A tale of unfortunate events

A man we'll call, John Doe, was driving away from school at about 3:00 p.m. when he experienced a sudden and unexpected diabetic blackout. In a state of near-unconsciousness his brain was barely functioning. He lost control of his vehicle and collided head-on with another car.

When the police arrived, they tried talking with the teacher. He wasn’t making sense. They ignored the obvious fact that John had just been in an accident. And they failed to call for an ambulance. Instead, they tried to order John out of his vehicle.

When John didn’t respond coherently, the officers dragged him out of the car. One officer opened the car door. The other officer punched John in the mouth, then grabbed him by the arm and pulled his weakened body from the driver’s side. John’s body flopped on the ground.

He was stunned, dazed, and now being pushed head-first into the pavement. Adrenalin coursed through John’s body, triggering a fight or flight reaction. Terrified and confused, he tried to push the officers off of him. In his diabetic state, he had no idea what was going on. He kept thinking someone was trying to kill him and he was going to die.

More officers joined in. And at the request of the police, so too did a few citizens. They twisted his legs, punched his genitals, hit him, painted his face with mace, and eventually sent him to the hospital bloodied and bruised.

During his attack on John, one officer found a diabetic testing kit in John’s back pocket. Still, he kept up his efforts to dominate John with force. The test kit was never recovered from the scene, and it was never logged in as evidence. The officer got rid of it.

And for his attempts to get the police off of him, John was prosecuted for resisting arrest. He was jailed for a brief time. He was put on T.V. in an orange prison jumpsuit, made to wear handcuffs and leg chains in court. He was beaten and humiliated – all because of a diabetic blackout.

The DiCello Law Firm represented teacher John Doe. And after a lengthy court battle, he won. Then, on John’s behalf, The DiCello Law Firm brought a Civil Rights lawsuit against the officers who bloodied and bruised him.

John’s lawsuit settled for over one hundred thousand dollars, justice finally achieved.

The DiCello Law Firm believes that when diabetics are subjected to excessive force by the police, justice absolutely demands that the injured person and their family be compensated. The money that can be won in these cases by The DiCello Law Firm gives the victims of excessive force cases the ability pay for necessary medical care, lost time at work, and some justice for being humiliated and degraded by excessive force.

Act now. If you or someone you care about has been the victim of a police officer attack or other form of excessive force, contact The DiCello Law Firm. Someone will get back to you and give you the help and advice you or your family member or friend deserve.