PHOENIX — Four Phoenix police officers were denied qualified immunity in a lawsuit over the death of a Black man during a 2017 arrest attempt in which one officer pressed his knee into the man’s neck and shoulder area.
That’s according to a newly unsealed court ruling that rejected the city’s bid to throw out claims of excessive force and wrongful death.
The ruling said disputes over facts in a key moment during the encounter kept the judge from making a decision on whether the officers engaged in excessive force on Muhammad Muhaymin.
The judge said officers who were restraining Muhaymin ignored his pleas that he couldn’t breathe.
Editor's note: The video above originally aired Nov. 17
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