NEW YORK, NY— A Queens man has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing New York City police officers of beating him unconscious, denying him medical care and falsely arresting him after he approached officers to check on his daughter during a Fourth of July gathering.
Leon Jones alleges the encounter unfolded shortly after midnight on July 5, 2025, after he learned his 19-year-old daughter had been involved in a fight and was being arrested.
According to the lawsuit, Jones left a neighborhood barbecue and walked toward a group of officers with his hands visible, telling them, "That's my daughter."
Instead of answering his questions, officers threw him against a metal fence before about a dozen officers tackled him to the ground, the complaint alleges.
While officers pinned him face-down, they repeatedly punched him in the head and torso, according to the lawsuit.
One officer yelled, "Yo, just pop him with a taser!" while another shouted, "Hit him!" the complaint states.
Jones said the assault left him unconscious.
"Instead of helping me find out what was happening to my daughter, NYPD officers beat me unconscious," Jones said in a statement released by his attorneys. "I was bleeding, I collapsed, and I kept asking for help. No one should be treated that way."
The lawsuit alleges Jones regained consciousness bleeding from his head, with blood covering the front of his shirt and splattered on the sidewalk.
He repeatedly yelled for help while neighbors and his wife urged officers to summon medical personnel, according to the complaint.
Instead, officers allegedly dragged Jones to a police cruiser after he collapsed again, shoved him inside and closed the door on his legs.
The complaint says officers left him in the vehicle despite his head injury, repeated loss of consciousness and requests for medical attention.
According to the lawsuit, officers later took Jones to the NYPD's 113th Precinct, where he remained in custody before receiving medical care.
The complaint alleges he spent about 22 hours in custody before appearing before a judge.
When Jones appeared in Queens Criminal Court, he still had an open head wound and blood on his clothing, according to the lawsuit.
The judge ordered his immediate release after seeing his condition, the complaint read.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court by Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, names New York City and the officers involved as defendants
. It alleges excessive force, false arrest, malicious prosecution, denial of medical care, assault, battery, false imprisonment and other federal, state and city civil rights violations.
"This case is about a father who was met with violence instead of answers when he tried to check on his daughter's safety," attorney Laura Kokotailo said. "Mr. Jones was beaten unconscious, denied urgently needed medical care, and then treated as a criminal rather than a victim."
The allegations have not been proven in court. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
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