Myron Martize Woods, who two weeks ago won a $127,500 settlement from Wyoming stemming from the individual conduct of two former Cheyenne Police Department officers, is now suing the department, city and two more officers on claims he was wrongfully beaten and tased in a different incident last year.
Woods won both his criminal and civil cases sparked by a 2020 incident in which CPD officers who no longer work for the department entered his home without a warrant, wrestled with him and arrested him.
Now citing a fresh grievance stemming from a different 2023 arrest, Woods is suing the department once again two weeks removed from agreeing to a $127,500 settlement of the first lawsuit.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming on Friday, Woods’ new complaint says he was riding a “small motor scooter” in the private parking lot of the Big Horn Motel in Cheyenne on Aug. 11, 2023, when CPD Sgt. Eric Norris approached him and asked if he’d seen unusual activity in the area.
Woods refused to talk to Norris, because he’d allegedly had “numerous negative interactions” with CPD officers, says the complaint.
Angry, Norris left on foot. But he returned moments later and told Woods he’d be arrested for driving the scooter on the public road, the document alleges.
Woods said he wasn’t riding on the road, he was riding on private property.
Later, Norris allegedly shouted at Woods to get off the scooter, grabbed his upper body and shoved him into the wall of the Big Horn Motel “face first,” then tased him in the back, handcuffed him on the ground and put him in a patrol vehicle. The complaint says CPD Officer Kristen Peterson helped Norris with these acts.
A crowd of six to eight people had allegedly gathered and asked Norris why Woods was arrested and tased.
“Norris then threated (sic) to arrest the entire crowd, stating that he would ‘find a reason’ to do so,” the complaint says.
Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill and the Cheyenne Police Department both declined to comment. Cheyenne’s mayor said he was not available to comment.
Affidavit Tells A Different Story
The affidavit filed Oct. 26, 2023, against Woods in Cheyenne Circuit Court tells a different story.
It says Norris found Woods riding a “dirt bike” with no registration. When Norris asked him to stop or be arrested, “Woods immediately started racing the bike around the parking lot,” the affidavit says.
When Norris walked to his car to leave, Woods “raced the dirt bike out into the street” and back to the hotel area, the affidavit alleges.
It says Norris grabbed one of Woods’ arms, put it behind Woods’ back and handcuffed his left wrist, then “pinned him in a doorway” when Woods tried to pull away.
“Sgt. Norris ordered Woods to place his hands behind his back at least a dozen times or he would tase him,” the affidavit says.
Another document in the case says the “scooter” was stolen, but Woods wasn’t charged with the theft; and Norris didn’t know the scooter was stolen when he arrested Woods.
That case, comprised of a one-count misdemeanor charge of interfering with police, was dismissed in March at the prosecutor’s request, “in the interests of justice.”
The Ask
Woods accuses the officers of using excessive force in violation of his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights, and of battering him.
He accuses the city, police department and agents of handling their duty of care toward him with negligence, and he accuses the city, department and Norris of failing to train subordinates properly. He’s asking for compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages, plus attorney’s fees and pre- and post-judgment interest.
Jordyn Surber, the same attorney who won the settlement in Woods’ prior lawsuit, filed the complaint.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
