WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A lawsuit against the National Fraternal Order of Police alleges a West Palm Beach police officer's excessive force resulted in a 67-year-old man suffering a skull fracture, among other injuries.
John Monroque filed a lawsuit Feb. 13 against the National Fraternal Order of Police (NFOP) in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred on November 1, 2019, at a Food Plus grocery store in West Palm Beach. Monroque alleges that Officer Nicholas Lordi of the West Palm Beach Police Department assaulted him during an arrest attempt.
The alleged assault was captured on surveillance video and used by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an investigation into Lordi's use of force.
Monroque claims that he was grabbed from behind, pushed onto the front of Lordi's police car, and then taken to the ground where he was placed in a headlock. He alleges that Lordi punched him multiple times with a closed fist and continued his assault even after Monroque was handcuffed and lying unconscious on the pavement.
Monroque was later transported to St. Mary’s Hospital where he was diagnosed with significant head injuries including a suspected skull fracture and broken nose, the suit says. All charges against Monroque were dropped after video footage of the incident was disclosed, he says.
Officer Lordi was arrested and charged with aggravated battery for his alleged assault on February 15, 2022, the suit says. The president of the West Palm Beach Lodge No. Two, Fraternal Order of Police Inc., Adam Myers, defended Lordi's actions stating that he acted within law and policy, the suit says.