‘Five Horrible Days’: Black Man Nearly Hit by Speeding LAPD Cruiser Pays the Price with a Beating, Jail Time and Roach-Infested Food After Reporting It to Nearby Officers. Now He’s Suing
Joe Ward-Wallace, a Black 62-year-old business owner from Los Angeles, says he was about to drive through an intersection where he had the right of way when he was nearly struck by an LAPD patrol car speeding through the red light without lights or sirens from a different direction, causing Ward-Wallace to slam on his brakes to avoid collision.
The retired firefighter who had never been arrested in his life drove to a nearby 7-Eleven parking lot where he had spotted two LAPD cops sitting in a patrol car to file a complaint against the other officer.
The two cops ended up beating, abusing and jailing him for five days with no bail on false charges that he had committed battery on a police officer, a felony that could have sent him to prison for three years but was eventually dismissed.
Last week, Ward-Wallace filed a federal lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, against the Los Angeles Police Department and the two cops who abused him, Joshua Sportiello and Edward Pedroza, accusing them of violating his First and Fourth Amendment rights as well as negligence, battery and false arrest.
Sportiello, who spent nine years in the U.S. Marine Corps, is the same cop caught sucker punching a handcuffed Black man named Alexander Mitchell last year in a video that went viral. Mitchell has since sued the LAPD and Sportiello in a lawsuit that remains pending.
“LAPD officer Joshua Sportiello strikes again,” tweeted Film the Police LA on the social media platform X, a social media account that reports on police abuse. “People that served with him in the Marines said he used to put animals in the microwave for fun.”
BREAKING: This LAPD Officer is under massive backlash for punching this handcuffed suspect for allegedly asking a question. pic.twitter.com/i5KmXyruTV
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) July 29, 2024
Ward-Wallace, on the other hand, has had a well-respected reputation in his community for decades, operating the popular South LA Cafe with his wife since the 1990s which they opened in the aftermath of the Rodney King uprising which now has four locations throughout the city.
The business’ Instagram account which describes the cafe as “Coffee With A Cause” has more than 55,000 followers, showing multiple photos of Ward-Wallace and employees volunteering to feed hungry families on a weekly basis since 2020 as well as volunteering in other community-driven events to help the needy.
“Just wanted to make a complaint about another police officer that was driving recklessly and almost caused an accident and when I started sharing that complaint to those officers, I was met with hostility,” Ward-Wallace said in a press conference Sunday.
“I was antagonized and assaulted. I was then arrested and denied bail. I spent five horrible days in jail and solitary confinement only to have the charges dropped.”
The Arrest
It was around 10 p.m. on April 11, 2024 and Ward-Wallace was driving on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in the Leimert Park area, approaching the intersection where a green traffic light gave him the right-of-way when he was nearly struck by the speeding LAPD patrol car coming from another direction that continued driving without lights or sirens.
Shaken by the experience, Ward-Wallace drove to a nearby 7-Eleven parking lot to file a complaint with the two officers sitting in their patrol car, but they did not appreciate that.
According to the lawsuit filed Thursday by Los Angeles attorney Christian Contreras:
Without warning, Defendant Officer JOSHUA SPORTIELLO (“Officer Sportiello”) proceeded to violently and unreasonably assault and battered Plaintiff by acts which included, but were not limited to, intentionally, unjustifiably and forcefully stepping on Plaintiff’s foot and aggressively and violently pushing Plaintiff in his chest area, which severely injured him.
Moreover, Defendant Officer SPORTIELLO admittedly stated that he intentionally stepped on Plaintiff’s foot and pushed him. Defendant Officer EDWARD PEDROZA had a duty to intervene when Defendant Officer SPORTIELLO used unreasonable force against Plaintiff JOE WARD-WALLACE when Defendant Officer SPORTIELLO assaulted and battered Plaintiff.
The force used on Plaintiff JOE WARD-WALLACE was excessive and not necessary under the circumstances. In fact, JOE WARD-WALLACE did not present any threat to the safety of the Defendant Officers in any form and JOE WARDWALLACE should not have been detained nor arrested.
Furthermore, after Defendant Officer SPORTIELLO assaulted and battered Plaintiff, Defendant Officers falsely detained and arrested Plaintiff for “battery on an officer.” JOE WARD-WALLACE was transported to the Southwest station. On the way to the station, Defendant Officers tightly placed handcuffs on Plaintiff, shoved Plaintiff into the backseat of their patrol vehicle, fastened Plaintiff into a malfunctioned seatbelt, which immediately became unbuckled, intentionally drove the patrol vehicle at high speeds and slammed on brakes numerous times causing Plaintiff to be tossed and thrown in the backseat, which caused severe injuries to his person, specifically his wrist.
The lawsuit states that Ward-Wallace spent five days without eating because not only is he a vegetarian, the food they were giving him was infested with roaches.
He was also placed in solitary confinement, apparently to further punish him for asking to speak to a supervisor where he had a panic attack which made him believe he was suffering a heart attack.
But when he tried calling officers on the emergency intercom in his cell, he was ignored, the claim states.
Now the Black man is determined to seek justice not only for himself but for countless other victims of police abuse.
“This happens every day to Black men in this community, racial profiling, brutality,” Ward-Wallace said during Sunday’s press conference.
“I am prepared to use my platform to make a difference. This must stop and I will fight to the end to do my part to make a change in this broken system.”
The LAPD, meanwhile, which has a long history of racism — including against its own Black officers — has refused to comment to local media about the incident. And the name of the cop speeding through the red light has not been made public.
But now that the lawsuit has been filed, Ward-Wallace’s friends and customers who have known him for years are offering their full support.
“I am incredibly proud of your courage and resilience, Joe,” commented a Black man named Chris Blake Cole on the cafe’s Instagram page.
“Taking a stand in the face of injustice is no small feat. Your strength not only speaks to your character but serves as a beacon of hope for others like us who have faced similar trials.”
“Please know that I am standing with you every step of the way—your voice matters, your fight matters, and you are not alone. You guys have my unwavering support as you continue this journey for justice.”