Judge grants motion connected to 2019 arrest of Daquarious Brown

ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - A federal judge from the U.S. District Court for the Western District in Alexandria has granted, in part, a motion for summary judgment filed by former Alexandria Police Department Lieutenant Kenneth Rachal related to a civil suit filed by Daquarious Brown amid allegations that excessive force was used during his March 2019 arrest.

You may remember this case when four APD detectives, including Rachal, were searching for a burglary suspect in an unmarked vehicle. The detectives were not wearing police uniforms when they came upon an SUV driven by Brown parked in the middle of the road.

According to court documents, Rachal stopped next to the vehicle without activating either the vehicle’s sirens or emergency lights. Brown claims in his April 2020 federal lawsuit against the City of Alexandria, former Chief Jerrod King and Rachal that all four officers then got out with their guns drawn. Brown then sped off, leading to a high-speed chase through neighborhoods. Brown eventually collided with a truck at an intersection, causing severe injury to the other driver. At that point, he jumped out of the SUV, and Rachal pursued him on foot.

The ruling states that body camera footage revealed Rachal threatened to shoot Brown and ordered him to get on the ground several times. Brown eventually stopped running and turned toward Rachal, beginning to move to the ground. Despite this, the ruling states Rachal continued to run toward Brown and then struck him several times. Brown maintains that Rachal used excessive force.

According to the judge, the court ruled that it was unclear from the video exactly where Brown was hit and if he was hit by Rachal’s hand or a pistol. However, the court states that based on Brown’s account and the available video and audio evidence, they could reasonably conclude that Rachal struck an unresisting Brown on the head and body with a pistol, meaning that the officer’s use of force was objectively unreasonable.

Judge David Joseph ordered that Rachal’s motion for summary judgment be granted in part. The following claims were dismissed with prejudice: “intentional infliction of emotional distress under Louisiana law” and “punitive damages under Louisiana law.” In all other respects, Rachal’s motion for summary judgment was denied.

The City of Alexandria and former Chief Jerrod King also filed their own motions for summary judgment. King’s motion was granted and all claims against him were dismissed with prejudice. The city’s motion was granted in part and the following claims were dismissed: “municipal liability,” “intentional infliction of emotional distress under Louisiana law,” “due process claims under the Louisiana constitution” and “punitive damages under Louisiana law.” In all other respects, the city’s motion for summary judgment was denied.

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