A couple is suing a Texas police department for wrongful arrest.
The officers said they were looking for teenagers when they pulled over the couple.
The Americans With Disabilities Act is alleged to have been violated by the lawsuit.
A black elderly couple has filed a lawsuit against a Texas police department after they said they were violently arrested while searching for teenagers.
The attorneys for Michael Lewis and his girlfriend said that the police department used excessive force during their arrest.
Lauren Bonds told Insider that what they went through was degrading and unconstitutional.
According to the lawsuit, five RPD officers were searching for a group of black teenagers who were suspected of brandishing weapons and assault when they pulled over Lewis and Armstead.
The lawsuit said that the RPD wrongly identified Armstead's vehicle as the one used by the group of teens to flee the scene.
Armstead was told to throw her keys out the window, get on her knees outside of the vehicle, and walk back to the police car with her hands in the air, according to the lawsuit. Two other officers kept their guns pointed at her as she was arrested.
Armstead told officers that Lewis was a patient with a stint in his hand and that he couldn't have handcuffs around his arm or wrist, according to the lawsuit.
Lewis told Insider that she told them her boyfriend was on the transplant list. He cannot have handcuffs on his arms. They didn't listen to the person who said he was on the transplant list.
Four armed officers, including one holding an assault rifle, ordered Lewis out of the vehicle and told him to get on the ground, according to the lawsuit.
Lewis told Insider that he was praying that the guns wouldn't go off on him and his friends.
The officers cuffed Lewis despite his medical objections and placed him in a separate police car while they searched Armstead's vehicle and seized her cell phone without explanation.
It was frightening. It really was. I didn't know if I was going to live. Lewis said that he also did. Both of us were afraid for our lives. A gun could have gone off.
The lawsuit said that after officers found no evidence of illegal activity in Armstead's vehicle, she and Lewis were not arrested. Armstead asked why they had been stopped and searched, and the officer said they were looking for teenagers.
Armstead didn't have her keys or cell phone. They returned to the scene to collect Armstead's phone from the officer who had thrown the key out the window. The lawsuit states that RPD did not reimburse Armstead for the key fob.
The lawsuit claims officers violated the Fourth Amendment and the Americans With Disabilities Act by arresting and detaining Armstead and Lewis for being black.
The medical device in Mr. Lewis's wrist malfunctioned after he was arrested. He had to have three separate medical procedures to replace his broken arm. The procedures caused Mr. Lewis pain and suffering for a long time.
Bonds wants to see if she can get them some accountability and justice.
Insider's request for comment was not responded to by a RPD spokesman.
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