A $1.5 million civil suit has been filed against the American Samoa Government and several police officers employed by the Department of Public Safety for violations of civil and constitutional rights.
The suit filed on May 9 in the High Court of American Samoa alleges excessive force, denial of medical care, false charges, and cover-up attempts in the case of Setope Faalata.
The case alleges that on May 9, 2021, Mr. Faalata was brutally beaten by police officers while in handcuffs at the Fagatogo Market. Officers involved allegedly continued to assault Mr. Faalata even after he had fallen unconscious.
Along with ASG, other defendants named in the case are Captain Margie Alofaituli, Officers Faau Levi, Elleryquinn Histake, Dustin Maiava, Vera Montgomery and Commander Togia Togia.
The suit claims that witnesses to the alleged beating were threatened with arrest if they tried to intervene.
According to the suit, Faalata repeatedly requested medical attention but was denied until correctional officers at the Territorial Correctional Facility refused him entry due to his injuries.
He ultimately received treatment for a concussion, fractured jaw and teeth, and severe eye damage.
In addition to the assault and denial of medical care, the lawsuit accuses officers of falsifying reports and bringing false charges against Mr. Faalata to cover up their actions.
The case includes multiple claims against the American Samoa Government, as well as individual officers involved in the incident—with a total claim amount against ASG of $1.5 million plus medical expenses.
A parallel criminal proceeding is pending against some of the officers involved.
Mr. Faalata is represented by Sean Morrison, a former Assistant Attorney General for ASG, Keving Kornegay, and the Chad Jones Law firm.
In the criminal case that was filed in late May of last year, Captain Margie Alofaituli, is charged with forgery, criminal fraud, and offering a fraudulent instrument for filing.
Officers Faau Levi, Dustin Maiava and Elleryquinn Histake, are charged with assault, criminal fraud, offering a false instrument for filing, along with one count of misconduct in the administration of Justice and false report.
The officers are accused of beating Faalata, who had allegedly assaulted his girlfriend on the night of May 8th, 2021.
After the girlfriend filed a complaint against her boyfriend at the central police station, Officer Levi, a close friend of the woman, is said to have gone to the marketplace in Fagatogo, where the victim was hanging out with others.
He’s accused of punching the victim more than once, causing him to fall to the ground and lose consciousness.
The other officers who were present when the assault took place are also alleged to have had a role in the beating, or to hiding facts about the incident. The officers claimed that the victim resisted arrest and they had to use force to restrain him.
Text messages which were part of the police investigation suggest that Captain Alofaituli knew or suspected that Faalata sustained injuries at the hands of police officers.
Court filings suggest it was an attempt on her part to cover up the incident and there was an admission that she wrote the report of the investigation of the alleged assault, which had the signature of another officer.
