Man files lawsuit against Baltimore Police for 'wrongful arrest'

BALTIMORE - A newly-filed lawsuit stems not from the death of Freddie Gray, but from the rioting that happened after his funeral.

Branden Owens of West Baltimore says police knocked him down and arrested him for no reason on April 27 -- just as the riots began to spin out of control near Mondawmin Mall.

He says he had nothing to do with that; he was walking to the mall to buy some groceries.

Owens says an officer struck him with his baton, and then when Owens asked for the officer's badge number, the officer said "666" and then arrested him.

Eventually, Owens wound up in Central Booking for two days and was released with no charges filed against him.

Now he has filed a lawsuit against the city, the police department and the state.

He's asking for more than $1-million for wrongful arrest, battery and false imprisonment, but he says what he really wants is change.

“Hopefully other people will follow my lead and this is what we'll get out of this- someone to protect and serve us,” Owens said.

A spokesman for the Baltimore City Police Department said he could not comment on the lawsuit, but he did say that incident involving Branden Owens is the subject of an internal investigation.