Protester’s lawsuit seeks big damages, alleges Lexington officers used too much force

A man who protested in Lexington last summer with a group calling for police accountability has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against two police officers.

James Woodhead was arrested during an afternoon protest on July 11, 2020, outside of police headquarters in downtown Lexington. In the lawsuit filed this month, Woodhead accuses Lexington Police Department officers Zakary Ridener and Keith McKinney of using excessive force and of unlawful arrest and imprisonment, according to court records.

Woodhead’s lawsuit argues that he should be awarded compensatory damages for his attorney fees, bodily injuries and “intangible” injuries like mental anguish, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.

For the three counts alleged, the lawsuit calls for a judgment of $1.5 million in compensatory damages from each of the officers and $1.5 million from each for punitive damages. The suit also seeks compensation for attorney fees.

The city and the police department do not comment on ongoing litigation.

At the time of the arrest, Woodhead was charged with the misdemeanor counts of inciting a riot, second-degree disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to court records. The protest was part of mostly peaceful local marches last summer demanding police reforms after Breonna Taylor and George Floyd were killed by officers in Louisville and Minneapolis.

The lawsuit argues that the arrest was unlawful and that Woodhead had been targeted because he was seen writing — in marker — on protesters’ arms a phone number to call in case of arrest.

Putting the number on protesters arms was within Woodhead’s First and 14 Amendment rights, the lawsuit argues.

During the arrest, Ridener grabbed Woodhead’s “upper chest and shoulders” and tried to push him to the ground while also making an unsuccessful attempt to use his leg to get Woodhead down, according to the lawsuit. Woodhead “began to walk backwards,” and Ridener wrapped his arm around Woodhead’s arm. McKinney grabbed Woodhead’s upper body and “used his body to displace balance and took him to the ground,” according to the complaint.

Woodhead was handcuffed and taken to the back of police headquarters, where he was searched and then taken to the Fayette County jail, according to the lawsuit.

The officers used force “far beyond what was objectively reasonable and necessary to effect a lawful arrest, to overcome any resistance and in defense of self or others,” the lawsuit argues.

Soon after Woodhead’s arrest, protesters released images and video of what happened, and police released a video. At the time, some protesters argued that a choke hold had been used on Woodhead during the arrest, but police denied that one had been used.

Police said at the time that Woodhead was trying to interfere with the arrest of another protester, but Woodhead argued at the time that he had been concerned for that protester, a Black woman.

In the arrest citation, police accused Woodhead of “inciting a riot by urging five or more people to engage in a riot while in a public place. In addition to this, he wantonly engaged in tumultuous and threatening behavior in a public place.”

Kentucky state law defines a riot as a “public disturbance” involving five or more people “which by tumultuous and violent conduct creates grave danger of damage or injury to property or persons or substantially obstructs law enforcement or other government function.”

During the protest on the day of Woodhead’s arrest, protesters had been told by police they could not march in the road or block traffic.

In body camera footage released by police, an officer can be heard telling the group of police watching the protesters that he heard one of the protesters telling the group that anyone willing to go into the road and get arrested could. The officer then can be heard saying that was inciting a riot.

The arrests were made after a few of the protesters tried to cross East Main Street in a crosswalk against the light. Protesters argued after that there was no traffic coming when they crossed, and the video of the incident did not appear to show any oncoming traffic.

Woodhead is awaiting trial on the three misdemeanor charges tied to his July 2020 arrest. The charges of inciting a riot and resisting arrest are Class A misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison each if convicted, and his charge of second-degree disorderly conduct is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in prison.