A man and a woman whose violent arrests were caught on camera are filing lawsuits against two different police departments in Miami-Dade County.
The video of 26-year-old Dyma Loving's arrest got Miami-Dade police officer Alejandro Giraldo placed on administrative leave and removed from his training duties. Loving and her attorney announced Wednesday that they filed a lawsuit against Giraldo and the Miami-Dade Police Department.
"If we stop it sooner than later, then hopefully officers will get trained better, we'll have better policing out there, and maybe that will restore our trust in them," Loving said.
Loving has lost trust in the department since the aggressive takedown on March 5. She had first called police for help about a neighbor who allegedly pulled a weapon on her, but she ended up being arrested on a misdemeanor charge that the state attorney eventually dropped.
"The video evidence shows clearly is that the officers attacked this young woman," said her attorney, Justin Moore.
Loving would be the third person this week claiming civil rights violations from the Miami-Dade Police Department. Robert Menard and Steven Payne are suing Officer Carlos Angulo over separate incidents where they claimed they were racially profiled.
Miami-Dade police director Juan Perez said in a statement Wednesday the department "remains committed to the highest performance standards, ethical conduct and truthfulness in all relationships."
"While I acknowledge that a few incidents such as those recently highlighted may negatively affect the public’s perception, what is often overlooked, unfortunately, is the vast amounts of positive interactions that our officers have with the public," the statement also read. "If and when we ever fall short of our mission, we hold ourselves accountable."
Veteran Oscar Julien-Riou also announced Wednesday that he plans to sue over an encounter with a City of Miami police officer.
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Riou said he was thrown on the ground and arrested by Officer Ioannys Llanes while he was making a video at a park.
"My soul was hurt because my dignity, my honor -- they were bruised," Riou said.
His attorney filed an internal affairs complaint and got Riou's charged dropped, but worries about other people Llanes encounters.
"We are concerned about anyone who has endured this kind of anguish, distress and violations of their civil rights that Mr. Riou has endured," Rawsi Williams said.
Ruben Roberts, the president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the NAACP, said the vast majority of officers are serving well, but those that aren't need to be weeded out.
"I have spoken with (Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina) and Director Perez, and I know that this is not the edict of their departments, but we still have to figure out a way to address this issue," he said.
Both departments said they can't comment directly on any of these cases because of the litigation or internal investigations. Miami police also told NBC 6 that those who break the rules will be disciplined or terminated.
