An actor and filmmaker is suing the Los Angeles Police Department for wrongfully using force against him after they stunned him with a Taser when a burglar broke into his home nearly two years ago.
That police encounter happened on Oct. 14, 2021. “Snowfall” actor Damien Smith had returned home around 12:30 a.m. that night to finalize preparations for a trip out of town.
He was all set for a friend to pick him up and drive him to the airport when he encountered a stranger leaving his bedroom carrying a backpack and wearing his grandfather’s watch.
The man falsely claimed he was a mover, then charged at Smith. Smith had grabbed a camping knife and cut the stranger’s hand then told him to lay on the floor and follow his orders. Smith then called police.
Officers arrived at 1:30 a.m. and approached Smith’s apartment from the back door which was left ajar. When Smith spotted them, he noticed they had what looked like guns drawn. Once they saw Smith holding a camping knife and the burglary suspect on the ground, they ordered Smith to drop the knife.
Smith complied and repeatedly told them that he was the one who called them while they were shouting at him to get on the ground.
At that point, Smith’s neighbor Tiffany Wysinger ran downstairs after hearing the commotion and also tried to clear up any confusion.
“I see them with something drawn, and I scream at the top of my lungs, ‘He’s the resident!’” Wysinger told the Los Angeles Times. “Then I hear a pop, and I start crying profusely thinking they killed Damien.”
Police used a Taser on Smith. Once he fell to the floor, they stunned him two more times. That’s when the suspect jumped up and ran to the bedroom.
The lawsuit states that the officers finally entered the apartment once they subdued Smith.
“I’m like, ‘I’m the one who called you.’ They’re like, ‘Shut up,’ speaking to me very disrespectfully,” Smith told the Los Angeles Times.
Police handcuffed Smith, then put him in the back of a squad vehicle and interrogated him for 15 minutes. An emergency medical technician asked for his ID and when officers confirmed his identity, they accepted that Smith lived in the apartment.
A police captain at the scene ordered his release, but no one apologized, according to Smith.
The burglary suspect, Demani Coats, was arrested at Smith’s apartment. After pleading no contest months after being charged, he was convicted of burglary.
“I’m still in shock and awe of how this transpired,” Smith said. “I’m in such fear of calling the police. Look what happened to me.”
Ironically, the entire encounter took place during the filming of Smith’s documentary on police brutality and community policing called “Searching for Officer Friendly.”
“To do a documentary about policing, you have to deal with policing, and I’m traumatized by dealing with police,” Smith said. “Right now, it is really hard.”
The LAPD hasn’t been very forthcoming with details on their end. They didn’t open an investigation until after Smith sued the department, have yet to comment on the suit, and refuse to release body camera footage at this time.
“At this time, there is no statement,” Officer Drake Madison told the Los Angeles Times.
