A Little Rock man who was struck in the head by a police bean bag round during a 2020 racial-justice protest filed a lawsuit Friday against a series of Arkansas State Police officials, citing physical injuries and psychological trauma as well as thousands of dollars in medical expenses.
Don Cook filed the complaint in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Arkansas. He appeared with his attorney, Michael Laux, along with family members for a press conference in Little Rock on Friday to publicize the lawsuit.
The complaint names Ryan Wingo, the State Police trooper who fired on Cook using a shotgun loaded with bean bag projectiles.
Additionally, it names State Police officials Jeff Sheeler and John S. Joe, who reportedly held the rank of lieutenant at the time; Col. William Bryan, Arkansas State Police director; and five unidentified State Police troopers.
According to the complaint, on the evening of June 1, 2020, Cook arrived at the Arkansas Capitol to participate in one of the numerous protests in Little Rock that followed the murder of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.
Cook was at the Capitol because he thought something important was happening, and he "needed to be there as a citizen," he told reporters Friday.
After parking his car in the vicinity of the Capitol grounds, Cook, who was 57 at the time, approached the area around 9 p.m. and walked around for about an hour, hoping to locate a friend, the complaint says.
When police gave instructions to disperse over a loudspeaker around 10:30 p.m., Cook began to leave, according to the complaint.
While walking north, away from the Capitol, in an attempt to return to his parked car as police were deploying tear gas canisters, Cook "briefly turned his head toward the sound of ASP troopers and, at that moment, he was violently struck in the face by a lead-filled bean bag projectile," which knocked him unconscious, the complaint says.
Paramedics who were told of a possible trauma patient found Cook sitting on a curb, where he was not handcuffed or restrained, according to the complaint.
They transported Cook to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery on June 3, 2020, owing to the injuries to his face, jaw and teeth, the complaint says.
In November 2020, Cook filed a claim with the Arkansas Claims Commission in an attempt to obtain compensation for his medical expenses; during that process, Cook gave a May 4, 2021, videotaped statement at the request of a State Police attorney, according to the complaint.
Police later obtained a warrant for Cook's arrest on a Class C misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental operations. He was arrested at his home on July 23, 2021, the complaint says.
Cook pleaded innocent, entered a pretrial diversion agreement and the misdemeanor charge was ultimately dismissed, according to the complaint.
Laux said Friday that Cook's Claims Commission case was voluntarily dismissed and has been "subsumed" into the complaint filed in federal court.
Injuries suffered by Cook included a "severe" concussion and the loss of teeth. He underwent oral surgery to repair injuries to his mouth, teeth and jaw that included tooth implants and a titanium plate placed in his lower jaw, the complaint says.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and other damages. Claims include the violation of Cook's Fourth Amendment rights, First Amendment retaliation and civil conspiracy to violate his constitutional rights.
The press conference Friday was held at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Little Rock.
Cook, a local lawyer, told reporters he was trying to put distance between himself and the advancing line of officers amid tear gas and pepper ball rounds that made it sound like "a war zone."
He was just trying to leave, Cook said. "And I didn't expect to spend the next three days in the hospital with a shattered jaw and some permanent injuries," he added.
In January, the Arkansas Times reported on Cook's injuries sustained during the protest, as well as his case filed with the Claims Commission, his meeting with a State Police attorney and the subsequent arrest by State Police troopers at his home in July 2021.
In June 2021, Wingo shot and killed a 34-year-old man in Royal after a pursuit in which the suspect fled on his motorcycle, according to the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record.
A Garland County prosecutor found Wingo's use of force was justified, the newspaper reported.
As of earlier this year, Wingo was the only State Police official to appear on a list maintained by prosecutors of the 6th Judicial District, which encompasses Pulaski and Perry counties, that tracks law enforcement officers with possible disciplinary action in their history.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained a copy of the list in January pursuant to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
In light of the severe injuries that bean bag projectiles can cause, Laux took issue not just with what Wingo did to Cook, "but that he was allowed to even engage in that type of force by his commanders," he said.
When reached via email Friday afternoon and asked for comment on the lawsuit, State Police spokesman Bill Sadler wrote, "The Arkansas State Police has a long-standing practice that limits any public interchange of questions or comment relating to pending litigation."