Man has hand amputated because US police handcuffed him too tightly, his lawyers say

He underwent four operations in which doctors removed his fingertips and later his entire hand

Representational Image: A Hispanic man in Birmingham, Alabama has sued the police for handcuffing hims so tightly that his hand hand to be amputated (Photo by MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images)

A 26-year-old Hispanic man has sued the Jefferson County police for allegedly handcuffing him so tightly that one of his hands had to be amputated, a federal lawsuit has revealed.

Giovanni Loyola, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and was in jail for “resisting arrest” among other charges, got out on 28 February and noticed pain in his left wrist. He subsequently underwent four operations in which doctors removed his fingertips and later his entire hand.

In April this year, Mr Loyola filed a lawsuit against the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department deputy who handcuffed him in February 2020. In the lawsuit, he claimed that the deputies used excessive force and that his civil rights were violated. The lawsuit revealed that he was handcuffed for hours and that blocked circulation to his wrists.

Mr Loyola also claimed that he asked the police to loosen his handcuffs but the sheriff’s deputies ignored his request.

On February 16 last year, Mr Loyola — according to his lawsuit — was watching TV in his mother’s trailer in Pinson, Birmingham, when the sheriff’s deputies knocked on the door. According to the report filed by six days later, one official — identified just as Deputy Godber in the lawsuit — along with two others went to the trailer after receiving calls that there was a gunshot heard and a report of two men fighting outside and unloading or loading large weapons.

Mr Loyola said he was not involved in the fighting and neither had any guns on him, according to the lawsuit said. However, his brother may have been arguing outside the trailer.

On that day, when the deputy entered the trailer, he handcuffed Mr Loyola. “Deputy Godber, without answering and without asking permission to enter the home, reached inside the doorway, grabbed Plaintiff by the wrist and jerked him outside the home and down the steps,” the lawsuit said.

It also mentioned that Mr Loyola was slammed into a car, thrown to the ground and punched in the face. According to the complaint, Deputy Godber pinned him to the ground with his knee on Mr Loyola’s back and placed handcuffs tightly on his wrists, AL.com first reported.

Meanwhile, the deputy’s report said that Mr Loyola was being violent. It said: “Giovanni Loyola was intoxicated and arguing with family members so loud inside his residence it could be heard from the public roadway.”

It added: “Dep Godber tried to detain Mr Loyola where he immediately became combative, pushing Dep Godber away.” Mr Loyola allegedly struggled with the deputies on the ground and resisted being handcuffed.

“He sustained some scratches to his face, however, refused medics,” it said.

Mr Loyola was arrested for disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace and resisting arrest.

Mr Loyola said: “Deputy Godber refused even to consider loosening the handcuffs. He kept the handcuffs on Plaintiff with the same degree of tightness until he had transported him to the Jefferson County Jail that night.”

In jail, Mr Loyola was denied any medical treatment. He also served added time for his outstanding warrants for traffic violations and for failure to appear.

“As soon as I got to the jail, they all just left me there. I guess things could have gone better if I had been treated better. I was just left in the holding cell,” Mr Loyola said. He went to the hospital as soon as he was out of jail. He had a severe problem with blood flow to his left hand. After four operations, doctors amputated his entire hand.

Mr Loyola said he endured a ten-month ordeal that involved a total of four surgeries at different hospitals.

Mr Loyola worked mainly in construction.

William Terrill, Associate Dean at Arizona State University and a professor of criminal justice, said: “The officer probably, depending on the department policy, had a duty to check on (the tightness of the cuffs) because the result was obviously tragic.”