‘Going to F_ck You Up!’: Ohio Deputy Pummels and Tasers Black Man Who Ran Red Light As He Screams for Help, Body Camera Video Shows
It was after midnight when Kevin Kinds was pulled over for running a red light in downtown Cleveland by a Cuyahoga County sheriff’s deputy who pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot the 48-year-old Black man before punching and tasering him several times in December 2023. “Help me!” Kinds pleaded as he struggled with several deputies who were handcuffing him, leaving him with permanent injuries. Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Sgt. Timothy Coyne, who is now a lieutenant, claimed he feared for his safety when he brutalized Kinds, accusing the Black man of resisting arrest and not showing his hands – but all charges were dismissed against Kinds last year. Kevin Kinds has filed a lawsuit after he was beaten and tasered and had a gun pointed to his head by Ohio deputies after he ran a red light. (Photo: Body camera) On Monday, Dec. 8, Kinds filed a lawsuit against Coyne and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, accusing deputies of violating his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights by using excessive force against him. “Plaintiff, who was unarmed, began walking backwards towards Defendant Coyne as per instruction, and Defendant Coyne tackled Plaintiff to the ground, struck Plaintiff multiple times about the face and head and finally tasered Plaintiff 3 times,” states the lawsuit filed in Cuyahoga County court by Cleveland attorney W. Scott Ramsey. NJ Cops Who Used Racial Slurs Against Black Residents Cash In on ‘Blue Privilege,’ Collecting $2.6M to Sit Home and Do Nothing “Plaintiff suffered temporary and permanent injury due to the actions of Defendant Coyne. Plaintiff suffered economic loss as he was terminated from his job at the Cleveland Clinic due to the actions of Defendants herein.” Watch the video below. ‘I’m Going to F_ck You Up’ The incident began after Coyne spotted Kinds running a red light and activated his emergency lights. Deputies say Kinds did not pull over right away but drove several blocks before pulling over, and it’s not clear if Kinds even knew he was being pulled over. Body camera video shows Coyne treating the traffic stop as a dangerous felony stop, ordering Kinds to throw his keys out the window and step out of the car. “Driver, put the car in park, turn the car off and drop the keys out the window, do it now,” Coyne said through the intercom in his car. Coyne then gave the usual contradictory orders. “Do not move, sir,” Coyne said with his gun drawn. “Sir, put your f_cking hands up right now.” Kinds stepped out of the car with his arms raised and the deputy ordered him to walk backward, but then Kinds lowered his arms, which made Coyne panic. “Put your hands up, sir, I’m going to f_ck you up, I’m telling you,” he said with his gun remaining drawn on Kinds. “Put your f_cking hands up, put them behind your back now,” Coyne continued with the contradictory orders as Kinds walked slowly backward toward Coyne Coyne then tackled Kinds to the ground and pointed his gun at his face. “I said put your f_cking hands up or I am going to drill you in the f_cking head,” Coyne threatened. “You don’t listen!” It does not appear from the video that Kinds was resisting — and much less fighting — but Coyne kept telling him to place his arms behind his back, accusing him of fighting. “Bro, I’m going to f_ck you up so badly if you don’t stop fighting me,” Coyle continued. More deputies arrive, and Coyle punches Kinds several times. He then tasers him in the back as two other deputies are holding Kinds down. “Roll over! Are you going to roll over?” Coyle orders, but the other deputy is holding him down, making it difficult for him to roll over. Coyle continues tasering him as Kinds yells out in pain. Although it does not appear that Kinds is resisting, the three deputies are having a difficult time handcuffing him as they place their body weight on him but they finally manage to cuff him. “Help me, help me, help me,” Kinds repeatedly pleads. History of Racial Profiling Kinds was charged with assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and obstructing, but those charges were dismissed in April 2024. The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department told local media, “they conducted a use-of-force review and found no law enforcement misconduct.” Coyne was a supervisor of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Downtown Safety Patrol, which overwhelmingly focuses on stopping and citing Black drivers, as Atlanta Black Star reported two months ago, when they arrested another Black man, claiming he had drugs in his car. But the charges were dismissed against Henry Ray, who has since filed a lawsuit accusing deputies of planting drugs in his car. Another Cuyahoga County sheriff’s deputy named Kasey Loudermilk, who was also part of the Downtown Safety Patrol, was involved in two pursuits that ended up killing two innocent Black women, Tamya Westmoreland and Sharday Elder, in separate incidents this year. In the incident involving the death of Westmoreland, Loudermilk attempted to pull over a Black man named Nigel Perry for driving erratically and having an expired license plate, but Perry drove away and ended up crashing into Westmoreland, resulting in both deaths. Last month, prosecutors cleared Loudermilk in that case, saying Perry would have been charged with Westmoreland’s death had he survived. Loudermilk remains on paid administrative leave as prosecutors continue to investigate the incident involving the death of Elder, who was also killed by a Black man being pursued by the deputy for driving recklessly without headlights. That man, Jaymone L. Whitaker II, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and several other charges. In the wake of all the controversial incidents against Black people, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department last month rebranded the Downtown Safety Patrol to the Community Support Unit. They have also introduced a new policy allowing deputies to only pursue violent felons which was not the case in the two deaths of innocent women this year. “Deputies and supervisors must objectively and continuously weigh the seriousness of the offense against the potential danger to innocent motorists, themselves and the public when electing to continue a pursuit,” states the policy that went into effect in October. “Pursuing deputies shall have the authority to self-terminate the pursuit at any time.”
