A Festus man has filed suit in U.S. Eastern District Court of Missouri in St. Louis accusing three Pevely Police officers of beating him in a November 2016 incident, according to court documents.
Robert Golden Jr. filed a civil lawsuit Jan. 24 claiming that Pevely Police Department employees Tony Moutray, Kyle Weiss and Brian Benjamin violated his civil rights and inflicted injuries on Nov. 12, 2016. The suit names them as defendants as well as the city of Pevely.
Pevely city attorney Sean Westhoff said the city contests the allegations in the suit.
“It’s our contention the officers did not act improperly in any manner,” he said. He said he could not comment further on ongoing litigation.
In March, however, the city answered the lawsuit with a court filing that denied most of the allegations and legal conclusions in Golden’s petition.
Pevely Mayor Stephanie Haas and Moutray declined comment.
Moutray, Weiss and Benjamin are described as “officers” in the suit. However, Moutray was promoted to the rank of captain and named the department’s interim chief Oct. 1, 2016, after Chief Ron Weeks retired.
Golden is represented by attorney A. Mick Henderson in the suit, which seeks compensatory damages for “physical injury and suffering, medical expenses and his emotional pain and suffering,” and punitive damages and legal costs.
The suit says the incident occurred on Nov. 12 when Golden was driving a 1995 Chevrolet Silverado with three passengers in his vehicle. It says he stopped at the Pevely Express I-55 Mart Motor Plaza, 1707 Hwy. Z, then drove east on Hwy. Z before heading south on Commercial Boulevard (Hwy. 61-67). The suit claims that Golden noticed “a regular vehicle (later identified as a Dodge Intrepid)” following extremely close.
The suit says Golden pulled over to the side of the road just before the bridge over Joachim Creek when “a single red light came on in the front dash of the Intrepid.” He was not aware of any laws he had broken warranting a traffic stop, the suit says.
The suit alleges that three men came out of the Intrepid, guns drawn, but with nothing to indicate they were police officers.
“Out of fear for his safety of his life, plaintiff pulled away from the stop and continued” on Commercial, the suit says.
About 1.5 miles later, Golden spotted a Herculaneum Police car parked on the Twin City Honda-Suzuki lot, 1539 Commercial, and drove to it to seek assistance, according to the suit.
“Plaintiff became confused when the Herculaneum officer was pointing his weapon at the plaintiff,” the suit says.
Golden alleges he was “forcibly and roughly ripped out of the truck by defendants Weiss and Benjamin. Simultaneously, his back passenger window was bashed out by defendant Moutray.” He alleges Weiss and Benjamin threw him to the ground and while they handcuffed him, they struck him in the legs, body and head.
Golden alleges that Moutray told the others “make sure your cameras are off,” then kicked him and stood on his head. He also alleges Moutray forced him to yell “self-demeaning vulgarities.”
The suit alleges that “the assault on the plaintiff lasted for three to four minutes and only stopped because other officers arrived on scene.”
The suit claims Golden did not resist arrest and that nothing illegal was found in his vehicle.
“Plaintiff was in a great deal of pain with, among other things, swollen face (both sides), severely bruised torso and groin area, and neck pain,” the suit says.
It says Golden’s parents later took him for medical care at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City “to report the assault and be evaluated for injuries.”
The suit seeks a jury trial. Henderson said a trial is scheduled for Oct. 22, 2018, and said he could not comment further.