Family of man paralyzed during Md. traffic stop wins $7.5 million

The family of a Maryland man paralyzed during a traffic stop involving Prince George’s County police has received a $7.5 million settlement in the federal lawsuit they filed against the police department.

Demonte Ward-Blake was handcuffed when Cpl. Bryant Strong took him to the ground on a neighborhood street in Oxon Hill, Md., during a traffic stop in 2019. The then-24-year-old landed on his head, authorities said, breaking vertebrae in his neck and spine and leaving him mostly immobile from the chest down. Strong was later convicted of second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment related to Ward-Blake’s injuries.

The settlement is probably the second-largest payout over a police misconduct lawsuit in Prince George’s history, the family’s attorneys William “Billy” Murphy Jr. and Malcolm P. Ruff said in an interview with The Washington Post.

“This was a tragedy of huge proportions,” said Murphy, whose Baltimore-based firm is known for litigating police misconduct cases, including the case of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. “Money is no consolation ever in these kinds of situations. It won’t bring him back.”

Ward-Blake died in late 2021 at age 26 of injuries he suffered in an unrelated shooting.

“This was tragedy compounded by tragedy compounded by tragedy,” Murphy said.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) said in a statement after the settlement was announced that “no individual should be harmed when in the custody of a police officer.”

“Since that time, we have rolled out meaningful police reforms within our department, equipped all officers who interface with the public with body-worn cameras, and brought in a reform minded chief,” the statement said. “Chief [Malik] Aziz has worked tirelessly to not only change the culture of police and community collaboration, but also support the men and women of the Prince George’s County Police Department who work hard each day to protect and serve our residents.”

Ward-Blake’s mother, Rena Ward, joined Murphy and Ruff at a news conference Thursday morning to announce the settlement.

“Every time she hears her son’s name, it triggers real depression on her part, because she can’t ever forget what happened,” Murphy said. “She can’t forget his paralysis and hospitalization and attempt at recovery. She can’t forget the brutal treatment that her son obtained at the hands of this officer, and she of course will never forget how her son was brutally gunned down while he was helpless in a wheelchair.”

At the news conference, Ward said it is an emotional time for her family and thanked “God for this day.”

“I am so sad about this situation and money will never bring your family back,” Ward said. “But at the same time, our voices need to be heard around the world of what’s going on with police brutality to families.”

The traffic stop that left Ward-Blake paralyzed took place Oct. 17, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md., when Prince George’s police pulled him over for expired tags. Dash-cam footage from the officers’ vehicles and bystander cellphone video showed one of the officers pull a gun, which upset Ward-Blake because his girlfriend’s 6-year-old daughter was in the back seat of the car. The video showed Ward-Blake become verbally outraged at police, but he remained physically compliant with all commands, including when he was detained, placed in handcuffs and sat on the curb.

When Ward-Blake continued to yell and curse, Strong decided to arrest him for disorderly conduct and walk him to the side of his cruiser, where he conducted a body search, according to court testimony.

What came next left Ward-Blake paralyzed and led to both the federal lawsuit and a criminal case against Strong. During Strong’s trial, which took place in May 2022, the judge heard the officer’s account, but did not hear from Ward-Blake, who had died months earlier. While the moments leading up to the incident were captured on video, the assault itself was not — leaving the presiding judge to decipher whether the defense or prosecution’s version of events was the truth.

Prosecutors argued that Strong, who had been the subject of past excessive force investigations by the department, snapped at Ward-Blake over the man’s verbal tirade, lifting his feet from the ground and slamming him headfirst into the concrete roadway in a maneuver called a “takedown.” A witness officer who had also responded to the traffic stop testified that she heard a “commotion” and saw Ward-Blake’s feet in the air and Strong’s feet on the ground.

Prosecutors paired that officer’s observation with the testimony of Ward-Blake’s girlfriend and medical records showing the severity of the man’s injuries to prove that Strong had used excessive force.

But defense attorneys, aided by Strong’s testimony, argued that Ward-Blake’s paralysis was an “accident” and not the result of a criminal act.

Strong testified that he took Ward-Blake to his police cruiser and began searching the man’s upper body. Strong said he crouched down by Ward-Blake’s ankles, and that the man then elbowed him in the head and knocked him off balance. The officer testified that, at the same time, Ward-Blake turned away in an alleged attempt to flee. Strong said he reached for the man’s arm to catch his balance, and the two fell together to the ground.

But Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge DaNeeka V. Cotton ultimately ruled that she was “unpersuaded” that Strong’s testimony was “credible.” Cotton called his actions “excessive” and “unjustified,” and found him guilty on all three of the misdemeanor charges prosecutors had brought against him.

At a tense and emotional sentencing hearing in July 2022, Strong was ordered to serve one year in jail followed by three years of probation.

The settlement marks the conclusion of all civil litigation surrounding the case, though Strong and his attorneys have filed an appeal of his criminal conviction.

Strong’s criminal attorney, Shaun Owens, said he had no comment on the civil settlement because his office was not involved in that litigation. He said the criminal appeal is scheduled for oral argument on May 2 in the Appellate Court of Maryland.

In their initial civil rights filing in federal court, Murphy and Ruff asked for $75 million in damages, arguing that Ward-Blake was handcuffed and unarmed and that the actions of Strong were part of a pattern of police misconduct that the Prince George’s County Police Department had ignored. The suit further alleged that officers did not give Ward-Blake immediate medical attention after his body became limp during the traffic stop.

Ward-Blake lived 653 days using a wheelchair, and his attorneys said his paralysis contributed to his death. While sitting in his wheelchair, he was shot three times in the abdomen, police said, and died nearly a year later of complications related to those injuries. The lawsuit claimed that his body was in a weakened condition because of his spinal injuries from the traffic stop.

Prince George’s County has paid out millions of dollars in settlements and legal fees related to police misconduct lawsuits. In 2021, officials announced a $2.3 million payout to a group of Black and Latino officers who filed suit against the department alleging internal racism. But far more was spent actually litigating the case, including $5.8 million in fees and reimbursements to the plaintiffs’ attorneys and an additional $17.6 million in legal fees to a private law firm and outside experts.

Before that, Prince George’s officials agreed to pay $20 million to the family of William Green, a 43-year-old man who was shot six times while in the front seat of a police cruiser, his hands cuffed behind his back, by a county police officer.

Murphy and Ruff said that they, and Ward-Blake’s family, hope that the suit and the others filed against the county will continue the push for officials to implement and enforce reforms.

“It is a measure of justice for this family,” Ruff said. “What he went through deserves some measure of justice. We’re definitely pleased we were able to achieve this result for his family and for his legacy. This definitely sends a message.”

Rena Ward highlighted other victims of police brutality including Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and repeated her plea that voices need to be heard.

“You don’t want to not be around police, but we need police for protection in our world so we can live life as human beings. But this [police brutality] has to stop because this is not right,” Ward said.