Alabama city settles lawsuit with man stomped by police officer in 2021, agrees to pay $15K into trust

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The City of Huntsville has settled a federal lawsuit filed by a man who had his leg stomped on by police during an arrest in 2021.

Over two years after the lawsuit was filed in May 2023, Kemontae Hobbs and his family finally have some type of closure.

Hobbs was originally arrested on May 30, 2021, at a MAPCO gas station in Huntsville after an employee of the store called the Huntsville Police Department to complain that Hobbs was disturbing customers by “panhandling” and refusing to leave.

Video obtained by News 19 back in 2021, which circulated on social media, shows Hobbs struggling with Huntsville Police Department officers, being tased and being repeatedly stomped on by an officer while they attempted to arrest him.

As part of the settlement, the City of Huntsville has agreed to pay $15,000 into a “Special Needs Trust” for Hobbs with the “Alabama Family Trust.”

Martin Weinberg, Hobbs’ attorney, sent a statement to News 19 about the settlement saying, “All the parties are relieved to settle this lawsuit over an unfortunate incident that occurred over 5 years ago. There were a number of challenges, but we have closure now.”

Federal documents stated an officer with HPD was dispatched to the scene and reportedly tried to do a “safety frisk” to search for weapons, but says Hobbs “immediately balled up his fists and pulled away.”

From there, documents said the officer wrestled Hobbs to the ground to arrest him, tased him and then called for backup. When more officers arrived on the scene, the federal court documents state that while trying to “subdue” Hobbs, he resisted, and eventually, an officer came over and stomped on Hobbs’ legs.

The entire encounter was videoed by Bruce Turner. Turner said he was told by a store clerk that the man, Hobbs, had been harassing women in the store. He told News 19 that he noticed one officer was engaged with the man. Turner then walked to the back of the store to get water, and as more officers entered the store, he began recording the encounter. When the clip begins, the man being detained is already face down on the ground and someone is screaming for help in the background.

Two officers appear to struggle with the man on the ground when another officer runs into the frame and immediately begins stomping on the man’s leg repeatedly while shouting “stop resisting.”

The video is about a minute and a half long. As it ends, officers are seen lifting the man to his feet and begin walking him out of the store.

“We understand concerns with the use of force techniques used in the arrest and we take these concerns seriously,” HPD said in a statement. “The full incident is under review, including all actions taken by officers during the arrest process.”

Hobbs was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing government operations.

The video of the altercation can be seen below. This video contains scenes that could be disturbing to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

Shortly after the incident, his mother, Kimberlyn Hayes, and Weinberg spoke to reporters, saying Hobbs had been diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia many years ago. They expressed concern that HPD officers don’t have sufficient training to handle cases involving people dealing with mental health issues.

They said Hobbs was tased during the incident and dealt with injuries from the encounter.

Former Huntsville City Councilman Devyn Keith commented on the Facebook video, saying he considered what happened in the video “reckless use of force.”