A man is demanding $2.5 million from the city of Tempe, saying a “hyperaggressive” police officer with a known history of using unnecessary force against unarmed Black men held him at gunpoint while looking for a white suspect. 

Body-camera video first reported by The Arizona Republic shows Tempe police Officer Ronald Kerzaya holding hotel employee Trevonyae Cumpian at gunpoint for minutes. Cumpian has decided to file suit.

Kerzaya was looking for a white man wearing a black shirt and tan pants. Cumpian, 28, was wearing his work uniform, which identified him as a hotel employee. The incident came months after Kerzaya and the department came under fire for a 2019 incident where Kerzaya used a stun gun on Ivaughn Oakry who was holding his 1-year-old child in his own home. 

The notice of claim filed Wednesday also alleges the department attempted to cover up the hotel incident and a lack of action in the Oakry incident reinforced to officers that it was acceptable to use force without hesitation.

“How many times may the same hyperaggressive Tempe police officer terrorize a black man on video before Tempe Police Officials stop trying to gaslight the public into excusing his behavior?” the claim questions.

Cumpian is represented by Heather Hamel —  an attorney from The People’s Law Firm also representing Oakry — and Florida-based civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.

Crump, an attorney who was nicknamed “Black America’s attorney general” by civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, most recently represented the family of Breonna Taylor. Louisville city officials settled the case for $12 million — one of the largest payouts in the U.S. for the shooting of a Black American by police. 

He has also represented numerous other families involved in police brutality cases including the family of Wisconsin police shooting victim Jacob Blake and George Floyd, whose death in police custody in Minnesota sparked protests nationwide.

Hamel and Crump plan to hold a press conference further detailing the case Wednesday afternoon.

What does the notice of claim say?

Body-camera footage showed Kerzaya respond to the Hawthorn Suites hotel near Loop 101 in Tempe on Aug. 29, based on reports of an armed white man.

While searching for the man, the footage shows Kerzaya hold a Cumpian at gunpoint despite Cumpian not matching the suspect description. Kerzaya would not lower his gun until he confirmed the man was a hotel employee.

He then can be seen pointing his weapon at three others as he searches for the suspect, who was never found.

The notice of claim calls for Kerzaya, who has since been moved to an administrative role pending an investigation, be terminated due to his “blatant and continual abusiveness toward Black men.”

The demanded $2.5 million would cover the emotional trauma Cumpian sustained and the required lifetime of therapy resulting from Kerzaya’s actions, according to the claim.

The claim also details an alleged cover-up by the department to keep Kerzaya’s past conduct quiet. The attorneys said officials attempted to avoid providing the officer’s badge number and, when they did, they provided Kerzaya’s middle name of Aaron, instead of Ronald. They later provided his full name and Cumpian quickly discovered Kerzaya was at the center of the multimullion dollar excessive force lawsuit brought by Oakry.

The department stood by Kerzaya and the other officers involved following the Oakry incident. An investigation determined their actions were within policy and Kerzaya underwent mandatory re-training in contact communication, defense tactics and enhanced de-escalation techniques.

“With the lid blown off its efforts to bury Kerzaya’s misconduct, Tempe Police leadership was forced to pivot to public acknowledgment,” the claim details.

This — coupled with pressure from the media — forced the department to respond, according to the claim. The claim details how the department spoke publicly of accountability and transparency while allegedly engaging in retaliatory and intimidation techniques against Cumpian and his boss.

“His waking hours are infiltrated with the stress of realizing that, if he hadn’t been successful at de-escalating Ronald Kerzaya’s hyperaggressive state, he could have been the next hashtag. And his 1-month-old daughter wouldn’t have a father,” the claim says. 

Reach public safety reporter Bree Burkitt at [email protected] or at 602-444-8515. Follow her on Twitter at @breeburkitt.

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