On Wednesday, a Black man held at gunpoint by an Arizona officer last month filed a $2.5 million claim against the city of Tempe. The claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.
Trevonyae Cumpian, the 28-year-old Hawthorne Suites worker who filed the notice of claim on Sept. 23, was held at gunpoint by Tempe officer Ronald Kerzaya on Aug. 30.
The city said it has not yet received the claim.
On Aug. 29 a call was made to the Tempe Police Department’s non-emergency line, requesting that two individuals thought to be engaging in illegal activity be removed from the premises of the Hawthorne Suites in Tempe, Arizona.
Hotel general manager Shawn Hoover had seen a white couple smoking something in the stairwell. When he asked to leave, the man flashed a gun before leaving. Cumpian, a front desk worker at the hotel, followed the couple to be sure they left the property.
Kerzaya responded to the call, and asked Hoover if the suspect was Black or white. Hoover told the officer he could show him surveillance video of the armed man, but Kerzaya declined to watch the footage and began searching the premises.
He told two white people sitting outside that they should go inside because he was looking for a suspect. When he saw Cumpian, he pointed a gun at him and ordered him to put his his hands in the air.
Cumpian, who was unarmed, identified himself as an employee of the hotel, but Kerzaya said he was looking for a man who matched his description. Cumpian was wearing his work uniform at the time. Kerzaya ordered Cumpian to his knees. Three minutes passed before the officer confirmed over his radio that Cumpian was in fact an employee at the hotel.
The armed suspect has not been found.
In addition to seeking $2.5 million for emotional trauma and lifetime therapy, the claim calls for Kerzaya to be fired from the department, accusing him of “blatant and continual abusiveness toward Black men.”
“His waking hours are infiltrated with the stress of realizing that, if he hadn’t been successful at de-escalating Ronald Kerzaya’s hyperaggressive state, he could have been the next hashtag. And his 1-month-old daughter wouldn’t have a father,” the claim says.
The officer was placed on administrative leave following the incident, pending an ongoing internal investigation.
The claim also asserts that there was a cover-up intended to keep Kerzaya’s spotted past a secret. Cumpian’s attorney’s said officials attempted to conceal Kerzaya’s identity by trying to avoid revealing his badge number, and initially concealing his first name by providing only his middle name.
Kerzaya was critisized last year for using a stun gun on Ivaughn Oakry, a Black man who was standing in his own home and holding his 1-year-old child at the time. After the Oakry incident, Kerzaya underwent re-training to learn de-escalation techniques.
Less than 10 months passed before the officer pulled a gun on Cumpian. Cumpian’s attorneys described Kerzaya’s actions as racially motivated aggravated assaults. The hotel employee is being represented by Heather Hamel, Steve Benedetto and Benjamin Crump.
“How many times may the same hyper-aggressive Tempe police officer terrorize a black man on video before Tempe Police Officials stop trying to gaslight the public into excusing his behavior?” the claim asks.
The Tempe Police Department said the incident at the hotel was not consistent with their standards of professionalism.
