Minneapolis man alleges excessive force, unlawful arrest in lawsuit against two police officers

A lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday alleges two Minneapolis police officers violated the constitutional rights of a man who was filming them with his cellphone by shoving him to the ground and then wrongfully jailing him to hide their conduct.

Body-camera video from the April 22, 2022, incident shows the officers on a rainy street in south Minneapolis asking for Said Abdullahi to move out of the street. One of the officers, identified in the civil complaint as Daniel Barlow, pushes Abdullahi. The second officer, Sergio Villegas, approaches from behind and shoves Abdullahi, sending him toppling backwards to the street.

"Hey!" shouts Abdullahi, as the other officer grabs his wrist. "Stop assaulting me!"

In his police report, Villegas acknowledged he "pushed Abdullahi to the sidewalk," but said "Abdullahi lost his footing and fell down."

The video shows Villegas pushing Abdullahi forcefully to the ground.

The officers cited Abdullahi, 37, for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and took him to the jail in what the lawsuit says was "an effort to cover up their unlawful conduct." After spending three nights in jail, the charges were ultimately dropped.

Abdullahi is suing Villegas, Barlow and the city of Minneapolis, alleging the officers used their official capacity to deprive him of his First and Fourth Amendment rights. The lawsuit filed in Minnesota U.S. District Court describes the officers' conduct as a "widespread custom" of Minneapolis police to retaliate against people who film them, citing charges of a pattern of free-speech violations brought by the Justice Department against Minneapolis this summer, as well as other use-of-force allegations against Villegas.

"The most serious force used on Mr. Abdullahi, akin to a blindside block, has caused serious harm and even death in other instances," said attorney Jeff Storms in a statement Tuesday. "It is sheer luck that the consequences of this unlawful conduct were not worse. If the MPD is going to make genuine efforts to rebuild its trust with communities of color, this conduct cannot be tolerated and the consequences must be meaningful."

Minneapolis spokesman Casper Hill said the city has not been served with the lawsuit and declined to comment.

On that April day, Abdullahi's car stalled near 19th Avenue S. and Franklin Frontage Road, in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

According to the lawsuit:

Abdullahi asked a man in his parked car for a jump start, and the man responded with hostility, threatening him with a "knife and a baseball bat" and calling 911. Abdullahi showed the man he had Mace "to defend himself."

Villegas and Barlow arrived and Barlow talked to the still-agitated 911 caller in his car. Barlow told the man "there's obviously no threat here," and that Abdullahi was "just an idiot."

Abdullahi eventually asked to speak with the officers' supervisor, and they mocked him, calling him "[expletive] stupid." Abdullahi recorded the conversation because he felt he was being "treated unfairly."

Barlow pushed Abdullahi. When Abdullahi said he wanted to press charges for assault, Villegas approached and "violently pushed Abdullahi to the pavement" with "punitive intent."

In his report, Villegas wrote that he and Barlow warned Abdullahi he would be arrested if he didn't leave the other driver alone. They witnessed him repeatedly approach the driver's car and continue to bother him.

Villegas said in his report that he ordered Abdullahi out of the middle of the street, but he refused to comply. When Barlow attempted to put a hand toward Abdullahi and direct him to the sidewalk, Abdullahi "slapped my partners hand away," the report says, not mentioning that Barlow pushed him, which is shown on the officer's body-camera video.

Barlow describes his partner "physically push[ing]" Abdullahi, but said Abdullahi "lost his balance and fell to the ground."

Barlow said they arrested Abdullahi in order "to stop further criminal conduct."

Villegas has been accused of excessive force before.

In 2022, he punched a man in the face during an altercation at an officer's Halloween party in Edina, according to a police report obtained by the Star Tribune. The male pursued misdemeanor charges against Villegas, but the Hennepin County Attorney's Office ultimately agreed to suspend its prosecution of Villegas if he paid $500 restitution to the victim and remained law abiding.

Villegas was also among a group of officers named in another federal lawsuit alleging similar constitutional violations, brought by protesters who said police assaulted them during the protests following the murder of George Floyd. The civil complaint said Villegas came up behind a peaceful protester, John Mason, "and pepper sprays Mason as Mason is having a non-confrontational discussion with one of the State Patrol officers." The city paid $700,000 to settle this and other claims brought in the lawsuit, including retaliation and First Amendment violations.

Abdullahi's civil complaint cites that lawsuit, the Justice Department's charges and dozens of other misconduct cases against Minneapolis police as a pattern of excessive force within the department. The lawsuit asks for money damages to be determined by a jury.