South LA businessowner sues LAPD for excessive force, says officers assaulted him over complaint

LOS ANGELES - The owner of a popular South Los Angeles business is suing the Los Angeles Police Department, accusing two officers of excessive force. Joe Ward-Wallace, the owner of South LA Cafe, said that when he tried to make a complaint about another officer, two others assaulted and arrested him.

What we know:

Ward-Wallace and his attorneys held a press conference on Friday to announce the lawsuit against the department. 

The incident happened just over a year ago, on April 11, 2024. That day, Ward-Wallace said he had walked over to the parking lot of a nearby 7-Eleven to talk to a few officers in the parking lot. Ward-Wallace said he wanted to make a complaint about another officer who was driving recklessly through the neighborhood and had "almost caused an accident."

That's when he claims the officers assaulted and arrested him on charges of assaulting an officer.

Ward-Wallace said that he was denied bail for five days, only to be released and have the charges dropped.

‘Traumatizing and dehumanizing’ 

What they're saying:

"This happens every day to Black men in this community, and it's a result of overpolicing, racial profiling, brutality at the hands of those who were supposed to serve and protect us," Ward-Wallace said. "If this traumatizing and dehumanizing experience happened to me, a prominent leader in the community, we know what's happening to our neighbors and friends, and it must stop."

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Attorney Christian Contreras is representing Ward-Wallace. He claimed that while his client was in prison, he was put in solitary confinement and served food with cockroaches in it. 

Contreras also highlighted Ward-Wallace and South LA Cafe's dedication to the community, saying, "If Joe Ward-Wallace isn't safe, no one in this South Los Angeles community is safe because this system is broken."

Joe and Celia Ward-Wallace started their first cafe after the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles over the treatment of Rodney King by LAPD officers. "Thirty three years later, this week," Celia said, "it's still happening.

The other side:

The LAPD refused FOX 11's request for comment, saying that the department cannot comment on pending litigation.