Black Man Files A Lawsuit Against Police After He Was Handcuffed And Held At Gunpoint While He Was Moving Into A New Home

#1 Black man from Wisconsin was held at gunpoint and handcuffed as he moved into his new home

Keonte Furdge, 23, has filed a lawsuit after he was held at gunpoint at his new home when one of his neighbors called the cops. 

The neighbor called the police and told them about her suspicion towards a man on the front porch. The woman accused Keonte of breaking into the house whose owner recently passed away.

'My neighbor... passed away, the house is empty, and now there is an African-American with sweatpants... and a white shirt sitting on the front door,' according to released audio of the call. 

But in reality, Keonte along with his friend moved into the house with the permission of his highschool football team's coach whose mother was the deceased owner. 

Monona Police Department

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Furdge was held at gunpoint and was released after police learned the truth. 

The cops told; 'Sorry to ruffle your feathers this morning,' and that the incident had been a 'misunderstanding.

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'This lawsuit seeks to establish that this was more than a misunderstanding,' the complaint states. 

'It seeks to vindicate the violation of Keonte Furdge's constitutional rights.'  

The house owner recently passed away so the coach told the boys they could live for two months in the house.

On the move-in day, the police received the call from the neighbor at around 11 am to report a suspicious man. The police reached the house and knocked but no one came. They heard voices from inside and thought a robbery was occurring so they entered the home with their guns drawn. 

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Furdge wrote in his complaint that the two officers named Wedig and Wunsch did not knock nor ring the doorbell before entering the house. 

Wedig shouted after entering the house: 'Police department, come out with your hands up!' 

Furdge got scared and entered the living room.

'I was definitely afraid for my life,' Furdge told Madison365.com.

'They was like: "Are you allowed to be here?" I was like: "Yes, my coach is allowing me and another friend to stay here." And he was like: "Well, we got a suspicious call saying that people were on the property, and the lady that lived here was deceased."

Monona Police Department

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'I was like: "Well, my coach knows that me and my friend are staying here." And my hands are still up. The guns are still pointing at me for some reason. They still… They didn't put the guns down.' 

The cops called the coach who confirmed that Furge was allowed to be there. 

Monona Police Department

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Before leaving, Wunsch apologized and told him he recognized Furdge from his high school football days.  

'I am glad it was you and I recognized you versus somebody who I didn't know, but, ah, that is still not, nobody wants that interaction,' Wunsch said. 

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The lawsuit filed lists four counts including unlawful entry; false arrest and detention; excessive force and failure to intervene; and to hold the city liable for the officers' actions. 

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'It seeks to effect change through punitive damages by punishing the Defendants for their egregious conduct with the hope that the punishment is significant enough to prevent this from happening again in the future so that a person can move into a formerly vacant house in the City of Monona and sit on his front porch without having to fear that the police will break in and shoot him,' the lawsuit states.   

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