Hell of a story. A Dallas man is suing after mistaken identity, cops decide, well, to do even more. All right, let me go to the video, and I got a lot of twists and turns. Here it is. >> Speaker 2: Okay, well, what's your information? [00:00:18] >> Speaker 3: I'm gonna go get some of something to eat. >> Speaker 1: Hey, if you're good, sir, you're good. I'll be right back. [00:00:34] >> Speaker 2: Come on, step out for me. >> Why? >> Speaker 2: I'll explain to you. [INAUDIBLE] >> Speaker 3: I know, step out. I'll explain everything. >> Speaker 3: No, sir, tell me why? >> I'll explain everything. >> [INAUDIBLE] I didn't even give you the permission [INAUDIBLE]. [00:00:53] >> Speaker 2: Right now, you are being detained. Come on and step out. You're gonna get detained. Come on and step out. [INAUDIBLE] >> Come on and step out. Step out. Come on and step out. [INAUDIBLE] >> Come on and step out. [INAUDIBLE] [00:01:30] >> Speaker 3: Stop resisting. [INAUDIBLE]. What am I gonna be detained for? >> Speaker 3: If you let us tell you, we'll tell you. >> Speaker 3: Tell me right now. What am I being detained for, man? Help, help, help, help! [00:01:47] [INAUDIBLE] >> Stop, stop! >> Speaker 1: It was the wrong man! He believed there was something foul happening. He's been arrested and not told why. They taser him. He's confused, he's mad, he's upset, and now he's just yelling, help, help! [00:02:07] Put up the picture. They had the wrong man from the beginning, and they should have known it. According to a lawsuit filed in federal court, 27 year old Silvester Hayes, a former security officer and a single father who lives and works in Dallas, [00:02:25] is suing the city, alleging excessive force during his October 16th arrest after a case of mistaken identity. Put up the picture of what I call despair. [00:02:41] I want you to imagine something, just for a moment. Imagine you're pulled over by the police. They won't give you any answers. They open your door, proceed to arrest you, tell you, no, no, it's okay, we're just doing this, we're just detaining you, and refuse to provide information beyond that. [00:02:57] I can tell you as a black male, that would be terrifying to me. The lawsuit claims Dallas police did not use any methods to verify his identity. And because he had a similar name to another man, well, that was enough for the officers to decide to pull Mr. [00:03:15] Hayes from his vehicle, arrest him, and in the process, beat him, kick him, put knees on his skull, his neck, his back, and used tasers on him. Mr. Hayes has no previous convictions or arrest. [00:03:33] He's suing the city, council member, city manager, police chief, two individual officers, and the police department as a whole, claiming that policies created by the city, or the lack of policies created or enforced, led to the two officers using excessive force and [00:03:50] causing him continued mental and physical anguish. According to the lawsuit, he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, and faces pain and mobility issues from a shoulder dislocated by officers. He's also lost his job as a security officer [00:04:05] after spending multiple days in jail, unable to come to work. Hayes also lost his home and his ability to provide for his four young children. He's a single father. He was set to face two charges for crimes unrelated to the reason he was arrested. [00:04:23] Both of those charges have been dropped. Let me give you details on the arrest. So Hayes was out on the morning of October 16th, 2021. He was going to get breakfast for his children. He was pulled over by the Dallas Police Department. He can be heard telling the police sergeant after the arrest, that the stop [00:04:41] was initiated because he did not come to a complete stop at a traffic light. In the lawsuit, Hayes alleges he was pulled over as a result of racial profiling, instead. When he was stopped, Hayes provided police with his ID, informed them he had a legally owned handgun in the vehicle. [00:04:57] The bodycam footage provided to the Star-Telegram does not include any video or audio of Hayes informing officers of a gun. During the stop, one officer recognized Hayes' name and thought, not Hayes, but his name, and thought he was wanted. [00:05:12] I think that guy's wanted on charges of family violence, okay? That's according to the lawsuit. While there was a man with a similar name wanted on charges, his name was spelled Sylvester with a y, not with an i. They could have done a simple check. [00:05:28] They would have found also they had a different date of birth and everything else. According to the lawsuit, the Dallas police officer did not check Hayes' driver's license for any charges, but made the assumption that he was the same man wanted on those charges. [00:05:45] When they ordered Hayes out of the vehicle, he began asking why he was being arrested. At that point, the lawsuit says, officers began using unnecessary force on Hayes. When other officers arrived at the scene, [00:06:00] the lawsuit says they saw a gun in the car. It was the same gun Hayes had informed officers, but the officers who were at the scene first, did not tell the others that he had disclosed that he had a firearm. So you have officers arriving, they're not told, hey, [00:06:17] the guy does have a handgun, he's informed us of it. When they saw the handgun, officers who were arriving at the scene started calling out, gun, gun. Now that'll get you shot and killed, saying that in front of the police, and the force on Hayes increased even though he informed them. [00:06:33] It was not until after the officer who originally said Hayes was wanted on a felony charge ran his ID through the police database, ran his ID and found out that he's not the same man. He has no arrest, no convictions, nothing. And you can hear her saying, she's cursing, [00:06:50] she's using profanity as the results come up on the computer. The officer said, f, bro, it may not be him. Put it up. So after Hayes was placed in a patrol car, officers retrieved his handgun and [00:07:08] can be heard saying, Hayes, he kept reaching for the handgun, though. He kept reaching for his gun, yeah. The sergeant on the scene would apologize to Hayes, quote, if you felt like they roughed you up or whatever, I do apologize, but anytime that there is a gun involved in a traffic, stop. [00:07:26] The sergeant informed Hayes he ran the gun and it came back clean despite Hayes telling them it was already lawfully owned. Hayes then tells the sergeant that he believes he was treated the way he was treated during the arrest because of the color of his skin, the way he looks. [00:07:41] The sergeant tells him, that has nothing to do with it. Officers began looking for anything they could use to file charges against Hayes after realizing they arrested the wrong man. That's according to the lawsuit. Let's put it up. They're plotting. In the bodycam footage after officers gave the sergeant their side of the story, [00:08:01] he asked if they had a good warrant to arrest Hayes. Well, he does have speed and tickets, the officers tell him. But they didn't know about them until they ran his name through the police database. So the three kept brainstorming. [00:08:17] In the end, they charged him with resisting arrest and unlawful possession of a firearm. Those charges were absolutely dropped, but they weren't dropped until 14 months later. And the lawsuit state Hayes was in lawful possession of the firearm. [00:08:35] Also during the conversation, one officer said Hayes had no injuries, but the lawsuit claims Hayes sustained at least one lasting injury. They dislocated the man's shoulder. Medically, documented, Hayes life has been upended. Hayes said he has changed as a father since the arrest. [00:08:53] He used to be the fun dad, but now he is trying to figure out where he and his children would live. He has found a job working in a warehouse, but it doesn't pay as well as the security job he lost because of the arrest. Hayes and his children are living with a family member, he said. [00:09:12] He pays rent to the family member and has a car payment. Let's put him up. Upstanding individual, single father, works every day, works hard, is allied with police leadership in a way, being a security officer. [00:09:30] Quote, it's hard to get out of the hole they put me in, Hayes said. I was working hard to be one of those guys. I had about two and a half years of security. Hayes had been previously approached by recruiters from the police department and [00:09:46] had plans to enroll in the academy until his arrest. Now he doesn't have the desire to be an officer. Keep his picture up. Mr. Hayes, I wanna say this to you, the universe rewards two things very well, courage and wisdom. [00:10:04] You operated in wisdom. You operated in courage. I want you to know that you are respected, you are admired, you are loved. I appreciate what you do as a father, I appreciate what you do as a black male, [00:10:21] I appreciate what you do as a leader. Sometimes in life, you have to find your mess. To find your message, I had to do the same. But what is your message to the world? Well, your message is your mess with age on it, M-E-S-S-A-G-E. Sometimes moments like this have a way of providing an avenue to our [00:10:39] greatest selves. I encourage you to do all you can do to keep your head up, and know that you have the power to transform every negative energy against you.