A Florida man has filed a federal lawsuit against two sheriff’s deputies after body camera footage contradicted early police accounts of a February 2024 traffic stop that ended with him being slapped while handcuffed—an incident now central to renewed scrutiny around police brutality.
The encounter occurred on February 9, 2024, when Dwon Ellis Jr. left a cemetery where he had been honoring what would have been his late son’s seventh birthday.
According to a statement issued by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) at the time to First Coast News, officers stopped Ellis after he allegedly failed to stop fully at two stop signs on 13th Street West near Canal Street and Division Street.
An arrest report states that after pulling Ellis over, the responding officer claimed to smell “the odor of burnt marijuana” coming from the vehicle. Ellis denied smoking marijuana and told officers he did not possess a medical marijuana card. A database check revealed Ellis’ driver’s license had been suspended in March 2023.
“I informed Mr. Ellis that his license was suspended and asked him to step out of the vehicle because he did not have a valid driver’s license,” the arresting officer wrote in the report.
Police accounts from that night allege Ellis resisted during a pat-down. The report states Ellis “actively physically resist[ed] by turning his body,” then continued resisting after being placed in handcuffs by tensing his arms and pressing away from the officers.
Local reporting at the time reflected that narrative. The outlet cited JSO’s claim that Ellis “continued to resist” arrest and confirmed the department had opened an internal review after video of the incident went viral. JSO said in a statement, “We are currently reviewing the incident and circumstances that unfolded during the arrest.”
What was not disclosed in the arrest report—but is clearly visible in body camera footage released later—is Officer T. Murphy striking Ellis in the face three times while Ellis was handcuffed and standing against his vehicle.
In the video, Murphy can be heard yelling “stop resisting,” while Ellis repeatedly responds, “I’m not resisting.”
Those omissions are now central to Ellis’ lawsuit.
According to News4Jax, the suit accuses Officers J.A. Hendricks and Murphy of excessive force, failure to intervene, and fabrication of evidence, alleging violations of Ellis’ Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
The complaint also names Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, Duval County, and the City of Jacksonville, alleging systemic practices that allow abuse to go unreported.
Despite Plaintiff’s full compliance, the lawsuit states, Murphy “slapped Plaintiff in the face three times,” then threatened additional violence. The complaint further alleges Murphy gripped the back of Ellis’ neck and lifted him by his handcuffs, forcing him into what the suit describes as a painful and unnatural position.
Multiple recordings—including body cameras and civilian video—captured the encounter.
Ellis ultimately faced charges including running stop signs, driving with a suspended license, and resisting arrest without violence. He later entered a plea deal in which the resisting charge resulted in a conviction while other charges were dismissed.
Following Ellis’ complaint, Murphy was suspended for eight days.
“I didn’t understand it. I just felt bad,” Ellis later said. “I was angry. I was hurt.”
His attorney, Stephen B. Kelly Jr., described the incident in stark terms: “Slapping someone who you know is unarmed, being compliant and handcuffed… is wrong. That’s not a police tactic. That’s humiliation, and that’s assault and battery.”