ST. LOUIS — An Edmundson police officer responding to an argument last year at an airport rental car parking lot ended up slamming a man against a squad car and calling him a “racial slur,” the man alleges in a suit filed Thursday in federal court.
Sgt. James Nerviani, who is white, used excessive force and made an unconstitutional arrest by pushing Cornelius Johnson, who is Black, up against the police car and calling him a name, the suit alleges.
“Don’t you get aggressive, boy,” Nerviani says in body camera footage.
Johnson’s suit, filed by lawyer James Schottel, said the message was clear.
“A white man calling a black man ‘boy’ is no different than a racial slur,” the suit says.
Neither Nerviani nor Edmundson’s police chief immediately responded to a message seeking comment Thursday.
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The incident started on Oct. 3, 2024. Police were called to an Avis rental car parking lot off of Natural Bridge Road near the airport in the city of Edmundson, which has a population of roughly 850 people.
An Avis security guard wearing a black jacket stands across from Johnson, who is wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and a Pittsburgh Pirates hat, according to dash camera footage from Nerviani’s car.
The security guard jerks his head and upper body forward, beckoning Johnson to fight. Johnson takes a similar posture. Another man intervenes, standing between them.
Nerviani gets out of his car and walks toward the group. He stands in front of Johnson and grabs his arm.
He tells Johnson he’s being detained, according to body camera footage.
“What am I being detained for?” Johnson says.
“Because you’re being the loudest — that’s why,” Nerviani says.
Warning: Explicit language -- Police dashboard camera footage shows Edmundson police Sgt. James Nerviani detaining and handcuffing Cornelius Johnson at the Avis parking lot on Oct. 3, 2024. Johnson is suing the police department and two officers claiming violations of his civil rights.
Dash camera footage shows Johnson struggling with Nerviani and spreading his arms wide. Eventually, Nerviani handcuffs him.
Nerviani stands behind Johnson as he walks him toward the police car. Johnson continues to protest, turning his head to yell at Nerviani, dash camera video shows.
When they near the vehicle, Nerviani slams Johnson’s shoulder and back into the hood, pushing his forearm into Johnson’s neck under his chin, and calling him “boy.”
“Who you calling a boy?” Johnson asks repeatedly, struggling to stand up.
“You,” Nerviani says, followed by an expletive.
Another officer grabs Johnson’s arms in an armlock behind his back.
Nerviani continues to hold on to the hood of Johnson’s sweatshirt. He pushes his forearm into Johnson’s neck until Johnson is bent over with his face on the hood of the police car.
Johnson tells him to let go of his neck, and the other officer asks Nerviani to get his hands off Johnson’s neck.
“He’s telling you you’re doing wrong,” Johnson says, followed by an expletive.
Eventually, the other officer and Nerviani take Johnson to Nerviani’s patrol car and put him in the back seat.
Johnson continues to talk through the open window, telling Nerviani that the Avis security guard had run up into his face, looking for a fight. He and his wife were having an argument before the security guard arrived, but it wasn’t physical, he said.
Johnson was never charged, Schottel said.
The suit names the city, Nerviani and the second officer, Jordan Vence. It alleges Vence failed to intervene.
It seeks an unspecified amount of damages.
A hearing has not been set in the case.
