‘Struck His Head on the Metal Door’: White Massachusetts Cop Who Attacked Black Man for Asking a Question and Then Lied About It, Learns Fate
It was over a noise complaint that Massachusetts police arrested a shirtless and shoeless Black man named Sodiq Folarin Amusat in March 2023 as temperatures dropped below freezing. But the Lawrence police officers inside the booking room became annoyed after Amusat repeatedly asked for a sweatshirt and for the reasons he had been arrested, refusing to answer his questions or provide him with the sweatshirt his friend had brought to the station. Lawrence Police Capt. Michael Mangan became so irritated by his persistent questions that he clotheslined Amusat by wrapping his right arm around his neck and forcing him backwards, causing Amusat’s head to strike a metal door, prompting two other cops to pile on top of him along with the captain. A Massachusetts cop who attacked a Black man and lied about it, claiming the Black man attacked him first, was indicted on federal charges. (Photo: Lawrence Police Department) Mangan then lied in his report, claiming he was only trying to defend himself after Amusat tried to attack him, which was proved false by security video footage from inside the Lawrence Police Department. On Tuesday, October 28, Mangan was indicted on federal charges over the incident, including deprivation of rights under color of law and making a false report. ‘Egregious’: Judge Scolds Pennsylvania Cop Who Locked Up Black Teen for Nearly a Month and Hid Evidence That Proved His Innocence In his report, Mangan falsely claimed that Amusat was “assaultive” towards him, claiming the Black man slightly turned and bladed his body (to his right)” while he "threw his outstretched right arm to grab at my face with his fingers in a grabbing motion,” the Boston Globe reported. But the video shows that Mangan was the aggressor. Nevertheless, Mangan was cleared of wrongdoing by Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office, which told local media that “criminal charges could not be provided beyond a reasonable doubt against Captain Mangan.” But then the video was made public in January by NBC10 Boston, which led to a federal investigation into Mangan, resulting in the former cop’s indictment. “The irregularities in the reporting of the use of force indicates that efforts were made to cover up Mangan’s violent assault of Mr. Amusat most likely because Mangan was a long-serving, high ranking officer who also served as the president of the superior officers’ union in the police department,” states a lawsuit filed by Amusat in July 2023, which remains pending. Mangan, who retired earlier this year after a 20-year career with the Lawrence Police Department, has pleaded not guilty. Watch the video below. The Attack It was 3:30 a.m. on March 10, 2023, when Lawrence Police Officer Ramon Camilo knocked on Amusat’s door, responding to a complaint that he was playing music too loud. Amusat attempted to shut the door, but Camilo had placed his foot in the doorway, preventing the door from being shut. He then entered Amusat’s apartment, the claim states. Lawrence Officers Stuery Rodriguez and Alejandro Tavarez then arrived at the apartment to help Camilo arrest Amusat on a charge of keeping a noisy and disorderly house, a charge that was dismissed by prosecutors a few months after his arrest, the Boston Globe reported. The surveillance video from the Lawrence Police Department shows the cops walking Amusat into the booking room with his hands cuffed behind his back, wearing only sweatpants and socks. The video contains no sound, but it is clear that Amusat is not acting aggressively as he is speaking to the officers. The lawsuit states he was asking why he had been arrested, as well as asking for the sweatshirt his friend had brought to the station. The video shows several cops donning gloves as they surround him, which is generally an indicator that things are about to get physical, even though he was showing no signs of aggression. At one point, they became so annoyed at his questions that they walked him out of the booking room and placed him into a jail cell for about 20 minutes, the claim states. They then brought him back into the booking room and removed the handcuffs to finish processing him as he continued to inquire about his charges and asking for a sweatshirt. They also removed the handcuffs from him, but he still was not showing physical aggression towards the cops, but he remained persistent in his questions. That was when Mangan clotheslined him out of the blue. According to the claim: Suddenly and without warning, Mangan rapidly turned his body to his right toward Mr. Amusat and extended and stiffened his right arm. Mangan quickly lunged toward Mr. Amusat with his right arm parallel to the ground and then wrapped his right arm around Mr. Amusat’s neck. Mangan simultaneously placed his right leg behind Mr. Amasat’s legs. Mangan violently struck Mr. Amusat in the neck using his right arm to foreceably drive Mr. Amusat’s head backward (i.e., a “clothesline” maneuver) toward the metal door behind him. Mr. Amusat then struck his head on the metal door and on the concrete floor as he hit the ground. ‘Inhumane’ and ‘Completely Unacceptable’ It was not until January of this year, almost two years after the attack, that the video was made public by NBC10 Boston, which interviewed two use-of-force experts. "I would call that an unreasonable use of force," use of force expert Todd McGhee, a retired Massachusetts state trooper who taught defensive tactics for 30 years, told the station. Alex del Carmen, described by NBC as a “national expert on use of force,” agreed with McGhee. "From what you can see on the video, I think the officer overreacted in this case and essentially put him on the ground without having justification to do so," del Carmen said. Lawrence City Councilor Ana Levy, who had seen a portion of the video before it was published, described the video as being “inhumane” and “completely unacceptable.” The lawsuit, which lists Mangan and the city of Lawrence as defendants, accuses the former captain of assault and battery, unreasonable use of force, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. It also accuses the city of allowing these unlawful practices to thrive. “As a direct and proximate result of Mangan’s conduct, Mr. Amusat suffered physical injuries, including an injury to his knee and possibly other injuries,” the claim states. “He also suffered physical pain, humiliation, embarrassment, and mental and emotional damage because of this incident.”
