Man sues Orlando Police after being kicked in the face during arrest

Michael Von Bristol says the arrest traumatized him and left him fearful of the police.

Apr 29, 2020

A man is suing the Orlando Police Department after he was violently arrested and kicked at a local auto shop last year.

Michael Von Bristol is claiming that the incident, which occurred in January 2019 and was caught on surveillance footage, caused him to suffer nightmares and experience emotional distress.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Bristol has filed legal documents against Officer Dana Hilliker and is seeking $30,000 in damages for “the violence [that] left him traumatized and fearful of police.”

On January 14, police was searching for Bristol, 48, after he was accused of stealing a cellphone and $45 from a nearby apartment. During their search, a witness told police that they had seen him go into Lee Auto Repair in Orlando. As the officers looked through the shop, a police dog found someone hiding behind a locked closet.

Sgt. Matthew Ring states that he “announced his presence with a canine, and that if the individual did not come out they would get bitten.” According to Hilliker, the door flew open and made him stumble, allowing Bristol to run down the hallway toward him. As the police dog proceeded to bite Bristol, he fell to the ground and the arrest was made.

Hilliker admitted that he did kick Bristol during the arrest, but claimed that he meant to kick him in the stomach. The surveillance footage appears to show Bristol being kicked in the head, as he is falling to the ground. Next he falls on the side, while holding his head. The officers arrest Bristol and the video then shows the officer dragging him away by his hair.

Lee Cummings, the auto shop owner, said that Bristol “had his hands up and everything.”

“If it wasn’t for the video, no one would know what happened,” Cummings added. “I didn’t know what happened, so thank God for technology.”

The arrest left Bristol with a lump on his forehead and a bite on his leg.

In February 2019, a request was made for an internal affairs investigation. The sergeant who made the request believed that Hilliker’s actions did not comply with officer guidelines. He thought that Hilliker’s kick was purposefully made at Bristol’s head and not his stomach.

Hilliker was placed on administrative duty while the department investigated. In December, ten months after the investigation was concluded, the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office decided that Hilliker would not be charged.