Dominique Kenebrew says he was celebrating the purchase of a new home just outside Huntsville when sheriff's deputies knocked on the door, refused to say why they were there, tried to enter the home and tased Kenebrew in the back when he refused to let them in.
Kenebrew, an electrical engineer, today sued two Madison County deputies and Sheriff Blake Dorning in federal court for illegal search, illegal seizure and excessive force.
The complaint filed today states Deputy Daniel Dejong "shot Kenebrew in the back with his taser, delivering a five-second electrical shock... pulled the taser trigger two more times, delivering two more five-second electrical shocks."
Kenebrew was arrested, taken to jail and charged with obstructing government operations. He was later acquitted.
The encounter took place on Kenebrew's front porch on May 18, 2013, as about 25 to 30 guests were inside the home on Somerset Park Drive, just over Chapman Mountain in northeast Huntsville.
The suit says guests included a nurse, two college instructors, a graduate student and a store manager, "all successful individuals, either gainfully employed or completing their education."
"Kenebrew and his guests were also African-American," reads the suit.
Was race a factor? "I really don't want to go that route," said Kenebrew, 28, on the phone today. But he added: "I don't think they expected me to be the owner of the house."
The lawsuit and the police incident reports largely agree on basic facts.
It was around 11 p.m. Deputy Dejong knocked, Kenebrew stepped outside. Kenebrew closed the door behind him and asked what officers wanted. Police did not have a search warrant. Kenebrew refused to grant them permission to enter the house.
The stories differ on some of the details of what happened next.
The suit alleges deputies repeatedly informed him they wanted to search the home, but would not provide a reason and tried to walk around Kenebrew. "He said I'm going in the house," recalled Kenebrew on the phone today.
Dejong instead wrote that he had seen inside the door and had noticed liquor, beer and what he thought might be under-aged drinkers.
"I once again advised the suspect that I needed to check on the welfare and ages of the persons inside the residence, and that at this point, I was not asking his permission to enter," reported Dejong.
Since Kenebrew would not grant permission, Dejong wrote that he tried to force his way in, but Kenebrew puffed his chest and blocked the way.
Dejong wrote that he tried to grab Kenebrew's wrist and pin his arms behind him, but Kenebrew was too big and turned his body to block the door. Dejong notes that Kenebrew never raised his hands nor threatened deputies.
The suit puts it this way: "Kenebrew refused permission each time and asked what the problem was."
Finding he couldn't move Kenebrew, Deputy Dejong wrote that he backed up and drew his stun gun.
Both accounts agree that twice a guest opened the door and Kenebrew told the guests to go back inside.
According to the suit, the second time a guest peeked out, Kenebrew turned and "Dejong shot Kenebrew in the back."
The suit also names Deputy Ryan Countess. The suits contends Countess stood by on the porch, where could have intervened to stop "the use of obviously excessive force, yet did nothing."
Dejong writes that he was waiting as the stun gun "was cycling through the boot-up procedure" and fired when it was ready. He also notes he fired into Kenebrew's back.
Dejong wrote that he stunned him twice more when Kenebrew did not respond to commands to roll over and put his hands behind his back.
After stunning Kenebrew, Madison County deputies entered the home. They handcuffed two guests, according to the suit, "all without a warrant, probable cause or reasonable suspicion."
Dejong says they waited on backup. Kenebrew said there were about 10 deputies there already.
All agree they found nothing illegal.
There were no minors at the housewarming.
"It was determined that the patrons inside the house were not violating any laws within the residence," wrote Dejong in the original police report.
The suit contends that Deputy Dejong said deputies were responding to a noise complaint, although the suit claims that is likely fiction, that Kenebrew at that time only had in his home one wireless speaker "incapable of disturbing the peace even on maximum volume."
As for Dejong's written statement that they entered to see if Kenebrew's guests were old enough to drink alcohol, the suit says deputies never checked driver's licenses of the guests.
The suits says a different officer told Kenebrew that the deputies were responding to a complaint about a blocked driveway. Deputies did make some guests move their cars.
"The suspect was arrested for obstructing my investigation," wrote Dejong.
On Nov. 13, 2013, Madison County District Judge Allison Austin found Kenebrew not guilty of obstructing a government operation.
"Dejong's use of force was completely unnecessary and was excessive," argues the suit in U.S. District Court, claiming illegal search, excessive force and illegal arrest in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment.
Kenebrew is represented by civil rights attorney Hank Sherrod, who last year represented Robert Bryant of Kelso, Tennessee.
Sherrod argued that Madison County deputies in the summer of 2012 conspired to stalk, beat and falsely arrest Bryant. Bryant sued Sheriff Dorning and eight deputies, including Countess, in federal court last year.
The county settled with Bryant for $625,000 last year and the FBI then announced it was investigating the deputies.
This lawsuit invokes
the Bryant case and related newspaper articles to argue that Dorning and the Madison County Sheriff's Department have a record of ignoring or even covering up police misconduct. The suit claims the department did not investigate the Kenebrew incident.
Sheriff Dorning could not be reached for comment late Monday.
"Deputies under Dorning's command have learned that their justifications for using force and other unlawful actions will never be questioned," reads the Kenebrew suit, "and that they can act with impunity."
