BATON ROUGE – A Baton Rouge resident has filed a lawsuit against the City of Baton Rouge and its police department, claiming an officer used a TASER on him without cause while he was in custody.
Plaintiff Lee Shaffers filed the complaint November 3 against the City of Baton Rouge, the Baton Rouge Police Department and Officer Troy Lawrence Jr. citing allegations of excessive use of force and violations of his constitutional rights.
Shaffers says he was in the parking lot of Mike's Truck Stop waiting for a ride on August 8, 2023, because his vehicle had stopped working. He says there were two other men in the parking lot he didn't know. Those men were approached by Lawrence and Officer Matthew Wallace.
Shaffers claims one of the unknown men ran away from the officers on foot and was chased by Lawrence while Wallace drew his TASER and told Shaffers they had him on video conspiring to make a drug transaction. Shaffers denied the allegation but was taken into custody by Wallace without incident. Shaffers claims Lawrence returned to the parking lot after losing the unknown man who managed to escape. According to Shaffer, as he was getting into the police vehicle, Lawrence stunned him with his TASER without provocation. Shaffers says he was issued a misdemeanor summons for resisting arrest but was allowed to leave the scene.
The lawsuit claims Lawrence has a documented history of excessive force, a fact known to his superiors, but no preventive measures have been taken. The City of Baton Rouge is accused of vicarious liability for Lawrence's misconduct.
Shaffers is seeking $750,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life as well as interest, court costs, attorney fees and other relief. He is being represented by Peter T. Dudley of Pierce & Shows in Baton Rouge.
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana case number 3:23-cv-0155