Roseville cops sued over arrest involving use of force, Taser

A 25-year-old Minneapolis man has sued Roseville police officers, claiming they assaulted and Tasered him during a traffic stop and "false arrest" last May.

A police video of the incident, taken from a patrol car, shows the man emerging from a car and being thrown to the ground by police, who then struggle to handcuff him and swarm on top of him.

Police Lt. Lorne Rosand declined to comment because of pending litigation. The suit was filed last Thursday.

Victor Yair Hernandez-Rivera was a passenger in a Saturn sedan heading east on Hwy. 36 on May 26. Police saw the vehicle speeding and followed it with a siren blaring as it exited at Lexington Avenue N. and pulled over on a side street.

In the video, the driver is seen jumping out of the car and running away. He was never caught, says Hernandez's attorney, Paul Edlund. Edlund said Hernandez, who speaks little English, remained in the car.

The suit states that after about a minute and a half, Hernandez slowly opened the passenger side door and emerged, raising both arms and "holding his hands out in front of his body in a nonaggressive universal sign of compliance." He held his cellphone in his right hand.

An officer yelled, "Get on the ground," grabbed him by the neck and slammed him down, the suit says. He fell to the ground with enough force to shatter the phone, the suit says. Edlund said Hernandez suffered bruises.

When he was pulled to his feet, an officer said, "You don't speak English at all, do you?"

Hernandez was charged with two misdemeanors, obstruction of legal process without force and failure to obey a police officer, but the charges were later dismissed, the suit states.

Randy Furst • 612-673-4224