Kenosha man sues police, city over wrongful 2023 arrest at Applebee's Following a violent 2023 arrest at a Kenosha Applebee's, Jermelle English Jr. has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and three police officers.

A Kenosha man has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against three Kenosha police officers and the city of Kenosha, alleging officers used excessive force and arrested him without probable cause during a 2023 incident inside an Applebee's restaurant.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, names Officer Michael Vences, Officer Luke Courtier, Officer Kevin Roepke and the city as defendants.


Plaintiff Jermelle English Jr. alleges the officers used excessive force, failed to intervene and arrested him without probable cause, violating his rights under the Fourth and 14th amendments during the July 20, 2023, encounter at the Kenosha restaurant.

Background

According to the complaint, English was dining with Shaniya Boyd and their 1-year-old child when Kenosha police entered the restaurant while searching for people who had fled a nearby rollover crash.

In August 2023, WISN reported police said witnesses described the crash suspects as two Black men and a woman carrying a child who ran toward the Applebee's.

The lawsuit says officers focused on English based on what it describes as vague similarities to a suspect description, even though restaurant employees later said the family had been inside the restaurant the entire time.

The Arrest

The lawsuit alleges Vences seized English while he was holding the child and that the encounter escalated into a struggle.

The complaint says officers forcibly removed the child from English's arms, took him to the ground and struck him multiple times, including in the head.

Cellphone video showed police attempting to restrain English while he was holding his child.

Warning: The following video contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.

The filing further alleges Boyd was taken down and arrested when she tried to intervene.

WISN reported that Apple

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