NORFOLK, Va. — A jury recently awarded a man $20,000 for an arrest by Norfolk Police in 2021 after finding an officer liable for seven claims, including assault and false arrest.
Barthonia "Lee" Miller sued Officer Mark Mormando over his arrest inside a home off of Chesapeake Boulevard.
Watch: Bodycam footage of Miller's arrest that led to lawsuit
Our news partners at the The Virginian-Pilot first reported the jury's decision.
News 3 obtained the body camera footage from the three officers who were there that day, including Mormando's.
The officers were responding to the report of someone with a knife, Miller's attorney told News 3.
When they first arrived, they encountered Miller's girlfriend who was not armed.
Mormando then went up to the front door, where he encountered Miller.
"I'm perfectly fine. I'm the one who called y'all. I don't want nothing else. You're not searching me," Miller is heard saying on the body camera.
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Police ask to pat down Miller, but he refuses and says he wont come out of the home.
The officers and Miller exchange words, including Mormando and Miller both telling each other to shut up.
Mormando then enters the home, takes down Miller, and puts him in handcuffs.
Later, Mormando tells Miller he arrested him because he was interfering with a police investigation.
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Last year, Miller sued over the arrest, which went to trial in July.
"It's a just verdict. My thoughts were the jury understood the case," said Blake Weiner, Miller's attorney.
News 3 asked Weiner whether this was a case where everyone needed to take a breath to diffuse the situation.
"My client has every right while he's inside of his home to say, 'I'm pissed,'" said Weiner. "It's Officer Mormando and police officers and police departments. These people who are cloaked with government authority who are given this extreme power and authority. They are the ones that have the burden of saying, 'I need to take a breath.'"
Weiner contends Mormando shouldn't have entered the home and shouldn't have arrest Miller.
"To me, it wasn't one thing. It was how this officer violated multiple elements of the 4th Amendment," said Weiner.
In court documents, an attorney for Mormando argued the arrest was lawful and said the use of force was reasonable.
In a statement, the police department said, "The City of Norfolk Police Department supports all of its police officers who face challenging situations every day. While the verdict in this case is disappointing, we respect the jury’s time and attentiveness during the trial."
The department told News 3 the use of force was determined to be justified and the arrest did not violate internal policy, but they said other department policy was violated during the interaction.
The department did not specify which policy.
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Mormando has since left the police department for Virginia Beach's Police Department, where he is now a Master Police Officer.
An attorney for Mormando did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Miller declined to talk with News 3.
His attorney says he hopes the case sends a clear message on accountability.
"You don't have to shoot somebody or break somebody's leg or cause lifelong damage to somebody in order to be violating people's rights," said Weiner.
