A Florida police officer was accused of using excessive force after a video captured him repeatedly punching a man and shoving his knee onto the man’s head after he was handcuffed, authorities said Wednesday.
Nicholas Lordi, 34, of the West Palm Beach Police Department, was charged with aggravated battery in the encounter Nov. 1, 2019, outside a South Florida grocery store, court records show.
The incident left John Monroque, 65, with a broken nose, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Palm Beach County criminal court.
“That was uncalled for,” Monroque said at a news conference Wednesday. “He jumped on my back and knocked me to the ground and brutalized me.”
According to the affidavit, Lordi said he responded to a 911 report that a man later identified as Monroque was drunk and refused to leave the grocery store.
Lordi described Monroque as "disrespectful" and said he began fighting with officers. He alleged that at one point, Monroque tried to grab another police officer's gun, prompting Lordi "to take [him] to the ground."
The affidavit from an agent at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which investigated the incident, said video from body cameras and a security camera at the store contradicted Lordi's claims.
According to the affidavit, a review of the videos showed that Lordi put Monroque in a headlock. It alleges that he struck him six times, even though Monroque wasn't fighting back.
The officer then rolled Monroque on his stomach and punched him five more times, the affidavit alleges.
Monroque told authorities he lost consciousness. According to the affidavit, he appeared motionless for nearly one minute as Lordi handcuffed him.
A few minutes later, Lordi told Monroque to stop spitting and put his knee on Monroque's head for 14 seconds, according to the affidavit.
Lordi described the blows as a "few softening strikes" and said he couldn't recall whether Monroque was trying to hit him, the affidavit says. He also denied using additional force after Monroque was handcuffed — another claim that the affidavit says is contradicted by video.
The video was later posted on Instagram, and six months after the incident, the West Palm Beach Police Department asked state authorities to investigate.
In a statement to NBC affiliate WPTV of West Palm Beach, the police department said it conducted a use-of-force investigation immediately after the incident "based on the evidence available at that time."
"When additional evidence was discovered, the West Palm Beach Police Department requested an outside investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement," it said.
The police department added that it is "committed to accountability and transparency for the citizens we are sworn to serve."
A message left on a phone number listed under Lordi's name was not returned Thursday. His lawyer also did not respond to a request for comment.
The police union has challenged the authenticity of the video. union President Adam Myers defended Lordi, telling WPTV that his "actions were dictated by the actions of the person he was trying to arrest. And what I mean by that is he tried to disarm one of the officers and grabbed his gun."
“In this case he actually used restraint,” Myers told the station. “He still used force that was necessary to take this person into custody."
