A Montgomery County, Maryland, man is suing the Baltimore Police Department and the City of Baltimore, alleging that they didn’t do enough to stop its officers from violating his civil rights after one police sergeant was fired and three detectives suspended over his extortion.
Luis Alfonso Torres Hernandez, who was hired by then-Sgt. James Lloyd to build a patio at Lloyd’s Baltimore home in 2020, is raising claims of false imprisonment, false arrest, and civil conspiracy in the new lawsuit.
Lloyd was charged with extortion and sentenced to a year in prison after it was revealed he threatened to arrest, harm, and even kill Torres if he did not give back thousands of dollars Lloyd had paid him to complete the patio project.
In text messages, Lloyd had previously praised Torres for the job he did, and for his professionalism, according to the complaint.
The suit filed this week names three other detectives, Juan Diaz, Manuel Larbi and Troy Taylor, claiming those men also violated Torres’s civil rights by using their police authority, firearms, and access to databases while on duty to help intimidate and threaten Torres in the extortion scheme.
All of the officers, including Lloyd, submitted timesheets for the hours they were at Lloyd’s home, according to the complaint. The details of what happened at that home are outlined in the lawsuit.
Lloyd called Torres to his home in June of 2020, and when Torres arrived, the three other homicide detectives were also there. The officers brandished firearms at Torres, while Lloyd demanded to see his driver’s license.
When Torres claimed he didn’t want any problems, Lloyd allegedly threatened to shoot him with his police-issued weapon.
Lloyd then drove Torres to a bank in Glen Burnie, where Torres was made to obtain a cashier’s check for $3,500. He had to give it to Lloyd before he was allowed to leave.
Torres and his attorneys argue that Lloyd and the three detectives — operating under Lloyd’s direction — were emboldened by the underlying culture of the Baltimore Police Department. The suit points to the police department’s Gun Trace Task Force as evidence that the department engaged in a repeated pattern of constitutional violations such as this one.
The lawsuit also names the mayor and city council’s office, arguing that they are culpable for employing the four men, who were operating in their official capacity as officers of the law when the extortion occurred.
WTOP reached out to attorneys for the officers and Torres, as well as the Baltimore Police Department and mayor’s office. The Police Department said Lloyd is no longer employed with its police force but that the other three detectives remain suspended and are awaiting a trial board.
The city and several attorneys involved said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
