The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Florida Federal Court, claims the two officers had "deliberate and reckless indifference for the safety" of the 11-year-old boy by leaving him with "an enraged and violent adult male."
According to the lawsuit, the boy's mother had obtained a restraining order last September against her ex-boyfriend, Victor Howard, which required him to leave the Opa-Locka home they shared.
But when two officers showed up at the home, the lawsuit claims they allowed Howard to stay. And when the mother tried to leave with all of the children, the officers wouldn't allow her to take all of them, the lawsuit claims.
According to the lawsuit, the mother was allegedly threatened with arrest if she didn't leave the home. That's when the officers took custody of the boy and left him in the custody of Howard, even though he is not the boy's father, the suit said.
"They forced her to leave, under the threat of going to jail and leave her mentally disabled son with this man, violent man, who is now is a rage, who they just served with a restraining order," said Jeffrey Herman, the mother's attorney.
While the child was in the custody of Howard, the boy was restrained, beaten and brutally raped, the suit claims.
