Back on June 16, 2013, Milwaukee Police Department (“MPD”) Officer Rodney Lloyd was caught on police station video slamming Alejandro Lafreniere into a booking room wall. Officer Lloyd grabbed Mr. Lafreniere by the neck, took him into the booking room and drove him into a concrete wall adjacent to a bench. At the time of the incident, Mr. Lafreniere had his arm in a sling due to a preexisting medical condition. The MPD determined that Officer Lloyd used excessive force during the incident and fired him.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office brought two charges against Officer Lloyd for his conduct during the incident with Mr. Lafreniere, one charge of misconduct in office and one charge of abusing a prisoner, both felonies. The case went to trial. On Thursday, April 10, 2014, the jury returned a verdict finding Officer Lloyd guilty of misconduct in office and not guilty of abusing a prisoner. The conviction carries a maximum prison term of 18 months. Officer Lloyd will be sentenced on May 9, 2014.
The Milwaukee civil right lawyers of Samster, Konkel & Safran represent Mr. Lafreniere. We thank the jury for their service in reaching their verdict against Officer Lloyd. SKS Attorney Jonathan S. Safran spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after the verdict, and stated the following with respect to Officer Lloyd, “this former officer was clearly out of control and he should have instead used his training to properly deal with the situation of an unruly arrestee.” It should also be noted that Mr. Lafreniere was never prosecuted for any actions that prompted his arrest last June.
