Posted Nov 24, 2017 at 5:00 AM
A lawsuit filed by a woman who was beaten while in handcuffs by a Jacksonville patrol officer makes new claims about the situation and demands retribution from several people involved — including Sheriff Mike Williams.
The filing states employees at Scores Gentleman’s Club on University Boulevard forced Mayra Martinez to leave the premises on her first day of work while she was intoxicated and without giving back her purse.
Her car keys, house keys, phone, identification, Social Security card and other belongings were in the purse, according to the lawsuit, yet she was still asked to leave.
The lawsuit also states an employee made false statements about Martinez in a sworn affidavit and that she may have been slipped a drug without her knowledge.
That’s all on top of the excessive use of force described throughout the day of her 2016 arrest on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest as multiple people stood by without offering assistance, according to the lawsuit.
Martinez sustained several injuries including a concussion, neurological damage, mental anguish and humiliation, the lawsuit states.
Akinyemi Borisade is the former officer who is shown in videos beating Martinez both at the scene and the inmate processing facility. He was fired shortly after the incident and pleaded no contest to a simple battery charge, according to court records.
Martinez ended up pleading guilty to one count of resisting an officer without violence, according to court records. Now she’s going after Borisade and the people in uniform who stood by and watched the violence unfold. The 47-page lawsuit also points blame at employees at Scores for their part in what happened.
Defendants listed in the lawsuit also include Williams, Officers V.H. Vickery, K.A. Chastain and J.C. Andres, CSX Officer S.W. Cochran and the owner of Scores, Emperors Inc.
The situation started about 2 p.m. when Martinez reported for work. Shortly after arriving she was served alcohol by employees, according to the lawsuit.
At one point an employee told her she was too intoxicated to keep working, according to the lawsuit, and she was told to leave. When police arrived to remove her, she told them she wasn’t leaving because her purse was still in the DJ booth.
A dashcam video taken in the parking lot shows Borisade slamming Martinez into the pavement face first.
The lawsuit says Vickery helped pin Martinez to the ground as Borisade used “ground and pound” techniques on her to administer the arrest. The lawsuit also notes that the officers were unaware they were being filmed at the time, and information in the arrest report differs from the events caught on video.
Boriside didn’t go into the business to retrieve the purse until after Martinez was forced into the back of the patrol car, according to the lawsuit.
More police brutality took place as Martinez was being processed into the Duval County jail. Surveillance video there shows Borisade shoving Martinez into a wall and then hitting her in the stomach, chest and face with a closed fist after she tried to kick him.
At that point Borisade was warned by others that there were cameras recording his actions, but the lawsuit says the other defendants listed did nothing to help as Martinez lay unconscious on the floor for almost 15 minutes.
When paramedics finally were called, Borisade didn’t tell them about her head injuries, only that he punched her in the stomach, according to the lawsuit. He also denied her further medical treatment against their advice, and officers continued to use excessive force when she was moved to another room. That force included male and female officers taking Martinez to the ground while she was trying to change clothes and laying on top of her while she was nude, according to the lawsuit.
Her troubles continued into the night when when members of the Sheriff’s Office integrity unit ignored her request for an attorney to be present during their questioning, the lawsuit states.
Williams is included in the lawsuit because of his responsibility to oversee the training and supervision of Sheriff’s Office employees.
According to the lawsuit, when Borisade was interviewed by the integrity unit and asked if employees are allowed to strike suspects in handcuffs, his answer was “yes, sir.”
The lawsuit states Borisade is liable for his own actions, but the Sheriff’s Office also is responsible for any negligent actions of its employees.
Joe Daraskevich: (904) 359-4308