The City of Bloomington Agrees to Settle Lawsuit After Incorrectly Identifying, Arresting Kylese Perryman

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – The city of Bloomington has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought in 2023 by the ACLU of Minnesota and its pro bono partners on behalf of Kylese Perryman, who was arrested and jailed without probable cause by Bloomington police in September 2021.

As a result of the settlement, the city of Bloomington will implement policy and training changes within its police department aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future. The city will also provide monetary damages to Perryman.

In September of 2021, two men carjacked someone, robbed a group of women at the Mall of America, and then used the women’s cards to buy items at Walmart. While these crimes were being committed, Kylese Perryman was nowhere nearby. His movements and activities during this time were easily verifiable, and he had tattoos and other physical characteristics, like his height and weight, that clearly distinguished him from the suspect.

Even a basic investigation should have revealed that Perryman was not involved in the crimes. But, after a cursory review of video security footage, Bloomington police arrested him and detained him for five days before placing him on electronic home monitoring, causing him to miss two funerals and be separated from his young family and his job.

“Bloomington police arrested and jailed an innocent man for days, forcing Perryman to prove his innocence before getting the charges against him dropped," said Teresa Nelson, ACLU-MN legal director. “This settlement will give him a small measure of justice, but Perryman cannot get that time with his young family back. We hope the settlement will help prevent this from happening to others in the future."

The ACLU of Minnesota and pro bono attorneys at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarbrough LLP and later attorneys from Carlton Fields’ new Minneapolis office filed suit on Perryman’s behalf in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Law enforcement’s failures alleged in the suit include its failure to conduct a lineup or to contact eyewitnesses to confirm the identification; to consider Perryman’s verifiable alibis; to note distinct physical differences between Perryman and the suspect; and to promptly drop charges against Perryman when his defense attorney produced clear evidence of his innocence.

“I brought this lawsuit because nobody should go through the ordeal that I went through,” said Perryman. “I am relieved that the City of Bloomington will be making changes to prevent this from happening in the future.”

The lawsuit being settled by the city of Bloomington alleged that Bloomington and Hennepin County law enforcement violated Perryman’s Fourth Amendment protection against false arrest and false imprisonment. The suit also alleged that police failed to train and supervise law enforcement on proper identification and arrest of suspects.

As part of the settlement, Bloomington police have agreed to make changes to its training and policy, including:

• Adopting a procedure that incorporates the KOPS Alerts guidelines contained in the BCA's Minnesota Criminal Justice Information System Operating Manual.

• Adopting a procedure that states that police officers are prohibited from issuing KOPS Alerts as arrest warrants.

“Carlton Fields is committed to putting our time and energy to work for the people and causes that most need them,” said Molly Jean Given, Carlton Fields shareholder. “Hopefully this settlement will be the first step to implementing needed reforms to ensure something like this cannot happen again.”

“Kylese Perryman experienced a profound violation of his person and his rights,” said Sanda Giannone Ezell, Nelson Mullins partner. “Nelson Mullins is proud to have been selected to represent him as he turned his personal loss into a systemic change. His bravery and commitment to change should be acknowledged as the bright light in this situation. He will always be part of the foundation upon which future change is built.”