Defamation lawsuit filed by ex-Minneapolis police officer can move forward, court rules
Part of a lawsuit filed against the city of Minneapolis and its police chief by a former officer can move forward, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled last week.
The lawsuit was filed against Chief Brian O'Hara and the city of Minneapolis in December 2023 by Tyler Timberlake, who was fired after joining the Minneapolis Police Department earlier that year. It accuses the city and O'Hara of defamation.
The city and O'Hara tried to get the lawsuit dismissed, but a district court declined to do so in February. They appealed again, bringing the case to the appellate court.
There, the court decided that one count of defamation from the lawsuit against O'Hara may go forward based on O'Hara's comments to the media. The defamation claim based on the city's statements in Timberlake's termination letter, however, will not go forward because they are protected by statutory immunity.
The case will now go back to the district court. No further court dates have been scheduled.
Timberlake, who is White, sued after a video from June 2020 surfaced of him — during his time as an officer in Fairfax County, Virginia — assaulting La Monta Gladney, an unarmed Black man who appeared to be in the midst of a mental health crisis.
Body camera video showed Timberlake deploying a stun gun on Gladney, hitting him with it, and then using it again. He then kneeled on Gladney's neck and back.
The violent encounter happened just days after George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis by former officer Derek Chauvin.
Timberlake was charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and battery but was acquitted in 2022.
When news of Timberlake's past surfaced in April 2023, O'Hara said he knew nothing about it before hiring Timberlake. That claim was disputed by the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis.
