Man files excessive force lawsuit against two officers

555 Lehigh Acres man says two Fort Myers police officers used excessive force when they tased and arrested him at a 7-Eleven last April. Holley Delton Jones, 42, filed a Civil Rights lawsuit in federal court and is seeking relief for a violation of his rights. Jones was inside a Fort Myers 7-Eleven at 11501 State Road 82 in Lehigh Acres on April 15, when he was approached by officers, James Barlow, and Christopher Robles, who told Jones that they wanted to speak with him outside, according to the lawsuit. In police body camera footage of the incident, Jones is seen extending his hand to shake the officer's hand in an attempt to learn his name, but Robles repeatedly said "don't touch me". Officer Robles repeated his request for Jones to step outside and told him not to touch him, despite not being touched by Jones previously, the report claims. The officers asked a store clerk if she wanted Jones to leave. She said no, and that he had done nothing wrong. The officers led Jones out of the store to talk with him in front of the patrol car, but shortly after walking outside, Jones went back inside out of fear the officers wanted to do more than talk, according to his lawyer. Officer Barlow followed Jones back into the store where he used a taser on him, forcing him to the ground, knocking over a flower display in the process, the video shows. As Jones was on the ground in pain, the officer told him to quit moving or he would continue to use the stun gun. The two officers put Jones in handcuffs and took him into the police car. According to the filing, nobody in the store reported Holley to the police at any point and found no probable cause or reasonable suspicion existed to arrest, detain, tase, and search Holley. The lawsuit says a court has already determined the arrest was unlawful and a violation against his Fourth Amendment right. The Fourth Amendment requires police officers to have articulate reasonable suspicion before detaining a criminal suspect. All of the charges were eventually dropped.

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