LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A lawyer for Denorver “Dee” Garrett, a protester who was punched multiple times in the face by a Louisville Metro Police officer during an arrest on April 18, is now suing the man he believes was the officer responsible for Garrett’s injuries.

The lawsuit names Aaron Cody Ambers as the police officer shown in multiple videos hitting Garrett in the face as officers wrestled Garrett to the ground. He was standing in the middle of the street near Jefferson Square Park with a cross bigger than himself prior to the arrest.

David Mour, Garrett’s attorney, said his client is worried about future interactions with LMPD officers.

“It has changed his life, because he feels like every time the police roll up down there, he’s gonna be in a dog pile underneath a lot of people wearing blue uniforms getting beat like he was,” Mour said. “And it’s not fun to live that way.”

Louisville Metro Police officials have not confirmed the identity of the officer in the video to either Mour or Spectrum News 1, but Mour said he’s confident he has the right officer.

“If I’ve got the wrong person, come forward and say, ‘Hey David, you’ve sued the wrong person, please repair this, please fix it,’ I’ll be happy to do that,” Mour said. “Because I sure as heck don’t want to cast aspersion on anyone who has done nothing wrong.”

Officer Beth Ruoff, a spokeswoman for the department, declined to comment when Spectrum News 1 asked her at an unrelated press conference Thursday.

The department has opened an internal investigation into the matter, and Ruoff forwarded a statement to Spectrum News stating the investigation would take a month.

“Although we are unable to comment on the particulars of this case, we would like to explain that the timeline of the investigation is driven by multiple factors; to include, reviewing all body-worn camera footage, interviewing all of the officers who were on scene, interviewing any witnesses who are willing to provide a statement, and going through a supervisory review process,” Ruoff said in the statement. “We understand the interest in the case and are committed to expediting the timeline to the extent possible.”

Mour said the LMPD should be more open about the incident.

“The people now know we have a police officer in our community that has no problem assaulting – viciously assaulting – a person on the ground who is restrained who can’t defend themself, who can’t cover,” Mour said.

Mour’s seeking compensation for Garrett’s injuries, but he ultimately hopes the lawsuit leads to more accountability.  

“I think this officer needs to be criminally charged,” Mour said. “I can guarantee you if someone was over in Injustice Square, beating on another person like this officer was on Mr. Garrett, and the police were standing by watching it, that person would be in jail right now.”

Injustice Square Park is an informal name used by protesters for Jefferson Square Park.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday and Ambers has not entered a formal response in court yet.