PHILADELPHIA – A local man alleges he was the victim of excessive force from a member of the Philadelphia Police Department two years ago, when an officer shot him three times during his suffering of a mental health episode.
Jose Cerda filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Dec. 9 versus the City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Police Department Officer Gerald Murphy. All parties are of Philadelphia.
“On Dec. 9, 2020, plaintiff was a resident at the property located on the 4700 block of Rorer Street in the City and County of Philadelphia, when Officer Murphy and two backup officers responded to a call of a ‘person with a weapon’ at the premises. By way of background, plaintiff has a long history of mental illness, is a native Spanish speaker and does not speak English,” the suit says.
“Upon arrival, Officer Murphy observed plaintiff with a large knife in his right hand. Officer gave verbal commands to plaintiff to drop the knife, but plaintiff did not understand the verbal commands due to not speaking English and/or his mental illness. Officer Murphy had actual and/or constructive knowledge of plaintiff’s mental illness. Officer Murphy had actual and/or constructive knowledge of the fact that plaintiff did not speak English. Plaintiff advanced towards Officer Murphy with the knife due to the mental health crisis he was experiencing.”
The suit adds Murphy was not equipped with a non-lethal device, such as a Taser, and instead discharged his service weapon three times at the plaintiff – leading him to fall to the ground, lifeless and foaming at the mouth. Due to the shot, the plaintiff lost consciousness, was not breathing and did not have a pulse, but was still handcuffed by police.
The plaintiff was then treated by Philadelphia Fire Rescue and transported to Temple University Hospital in critical condition, with his heart having been stopped and his brain having been deprived of oxygen for more than 30 minutes. He was monitored under 24-hour surveillance by local police for the duration of his hospital stay, the suit says.
“In an effort to cover up their unlawful, excessive and unauthorized use of police force against the plaintiff, the defendants manufactured charges against the plaintiff, charging him with aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. Each of these charges was baseless and there existed no probable cause for such charges, a fact known to each of these defendants. These charges were eventually withdrawn by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office after defendant went through mental health court,” the suit states.
“As a result of the aforementioned assault and battery, plaintiff has suffered both serious mental and physical injuries, including but not limited to, cardiac arrest, anoxic brain injury, traumatic brain injury, memory loss, leg dysfunction, severe scarring and disfigurement, post-traumatic anxiety and depression, severe damages to his nerves and nervous system and various other ills and injuries which the plaintiff yet suffers, and may continue to suffer for an indefinite period of time into the future.”
The suit adds that the Philadelphia Police Department did not implement standards recommended from a U.S. Department of Justice report issued in 2015 and failed to train, supervise and discipline officers
For counts of excessive force and a Monell violation, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $150,000, plus attorney’s fees, costs and such other, further relief the Court shall deem appropriate.
The plaintiff is represented by Emeka Igwe of The Igwe Firm, in Philadelphia.
The defendants have not yet obtained legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:22-cv-04918
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com