Police body cam shows the April 2019 arrest of Douglas Miller.(LMPD)After Louisville Metro police pulled over longtime Kentucky attorney Douglas Miller for speeding and suspected drunk driving in April 2019, the traffic stop ended with two officers pinning Miller to the ground on the side of the Wat terson Expressway.“You’re killing me. I’m already down,” the lawyer said, according to body camera footage. “Oh, please stop.”Miller sued a year later, claiming he was assaulted and unlawfully arrested, as first reported by WDRB News. And the incident gained national attention when it was included in the U.S. Department of Justice’s sweeping investigation of Louisville police conduct in 2023.Late last year, under the Trump administration, a federal judge dismissed the DOJ’s consent decree at the request of federal prosecutors. City and LMPD officials have said they will continue to follow the recommendations of the 248-page investigation, including hiring an independent monitor to ensure that reforms are made.Louisville leaders quietly settled Miller’s lawsuit in December and agreed to pay him and his attorneys $175,000. As part of the previously unreported agreement, the city denied any liability. Both officers involved were cleared in an internal investigation of any wrongdoing.Miller, an Elizabethtown attorney who has been practicing more than 45 years, said in an interview recently “that after all these years (in which the case has been pending in federal court) I wanted to put it to rest and move on.”“We’re pleased with the resolution. It was a long fight,” said Peter Lay, one of Miller’s attorneys. “I hope it brings some recognition to the Department of Justice finding that this was a banner example of excessive use of force by the Louisville Metro Police Department."LMPD did not comment for this story.‘Officer had to use force’Miller was driving in the westbound lanes of the Watterson when police pulled him over just before the Bardstown Road exit, accused of driving 76 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone around 8 p.m. on April 16, 2019, according to a police arrest report.Officer Mark Batson said he smelled alcohol and Miller said he had a drink at a restaurant, according to the report. He later admitted having more than one drink.Police claim that when Miller refused to take a Breathalyzer test, Batson tried to arrest him, but Miller pulled away so the officer swept his legs, knocking Miller to the ground.“Officer had to use force to conduct the arrest and offender tried to get up even once handcuffs were on,” the report says. Miller was treated with minor injuries at the scene.The bodycam video shows that Batson removed Miller from his vehicle and asked him to take a Breathalyzer test. Miller initially agreed but then started asking questions about the test, including whether he would be arrested if he declined to take it.Miller admitted having two or three drinks but said he had passed a personal Breathalyzer test he had in his vehicle before he started driving.When Miller wavered on taking the test, Baton turned him around and attempted an arrest. “No look, I’ll do your test,” Miller said right before the officer took him to the ground. “I’ll do your test!”“Get on the ground,” Batson yelled, as he radioed for backup. “Roll over right now.”“Please, please tell me this is a dream,” Miller said, according to the body cam obtained by Louisville Public Media. “God Almighty tell me this is a dream. … You bloodied my nose.”The body cam shows Batson grab Miller by the throat before another officer jumps on him.“Get your hands behind your back,” an officer told Miller.“You’re holding my hands,” Miller responded.“Stay there,” Batson told him. At this point, Miller was handcuffed and face down. “Quit moving.”“I’m not going anywhere,” Miller told the officer. “You don’t have to sit on me. … You’re hurting me. Please, you’re really hurting me.”“Yes I do, you haven’t been compliant the whole time,” Batson said, according to his body camera footage. “Stop resisting.”“I’m not resisting,” Miller responded. “You’re killing me. I’m already down. Oh, please stop.”“...I’m not resisting, why are you doing this to me?” Miller said. He was again told to quit moving.Batson told a commanding officer he had kneed Miller and struck him with his closed fist a couple times.‘At no point were officers justified'The case was notable, in part, because it was mentioned in the DOJ review that concluded Louisville police and Metro government for years engaged in practices that violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law, including excessive use of force and searches based on invalid warrants.Several lawsuits against LMPD mentioned their client’s inclusion in the DOJ report to strengthen the cases. The Jefferson County Attorney’s office fought, typically unsuccessfully, to keep the report out of the cases, despite the city and police having already publicly accepted and agreed to make changes to the department, according to a WDRB News story.Other lawsuits where plaintiffs' claims were included in the DOJ report have also been settled, though it is unclear how many.In the case of Marlo Brown, who claimed his civil rights were violated during a traffic stop. The DOJ report alleged officers told Brown “whose young children were in the car that they would call in a police dog if he did not consent to a search.”The city paid $70,000 in 2024 to settle that discrimination lawsuit.Miller’s arrest was specifically mentioned in part of the report about officers using dangerous neck restraints against people who pose no threat.“An officer pulled over a white man for speeding and driving under the influence,” according to federal investigators' description of the case in the DOJ report. “The officer conducted sobriety tests with the man and ultimately asked him to take a Breathalyzer. When the man did not immediately agree, the officer took hold of him and pushed him down onto the grass next to the highway.“Within seconds, the officer grabbed and squeezed the man’s throat, releasing it after five seconds. After handcuffing the man, who was not resisting, the officer pushed him onto his stomach and pressed his forearm into his neck for nearly a minute, despite the man’s repeated complaints of pain.”The DOJ report noted the officer only removed his arm after another officer rushed onto the scene and immediately dropped his knee onto Miller’s neck.“The man continued to wail in pain, screaming, “You’re killing me! I’m already cuffed!' Still officers used their hands and knees to press the man’s neck for another minute. At no point were officers justified in using neck restraints. There were no threats or acts of violence, and the man was handcuffed for parts of the encounter."The DOJ interviewed Miller, who “spoke of the deep and ongoing trauma he experienced as a result of what officers did, as well as the physical toll it has taken on his body.”Miller registered a .064 at the jail, which is under the legal limit of .08 in Kentucky, according to court records.The charges of DUI, resisting arrest and criminal mischief were dismissed in Jefferson District Court in 2023. Miller pleaded guilty to speeding.A total of 19 officers showed up to the scene, even though Miller was “not a threat to anyone on that scene as he lie (sic) helpless on the ground while being manhandled,” according to the lawsuit.Batson, the arresting officer named in the lawsuit, now works for the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Department and did not return a message seeking comment. The other officer named as a defendant in the lawsuit, Troy Best, could not be reached for comment. He is also no longer with LMPD. ...read more read less