Mario Shaw, 49, a Black man, was accused of assaulting the police, but the surveillance video shows otherwise. After the concrete evidence was released, it became clear that the Memphis Police indeed lied, as the footage showed them attacking Mario, who is a Black man, by punching, kicking, tasering, and even biting him.
The situation unfolded in his dispute with a neighbor over dog poop. As usual, the police, who attacked him, were cleared of any wrongdoing, even though there was a chance of them facing a felony charge for lying in their report.
Shaw initially faced charges of assaulting a first responder, resisting arrest, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct. However, the ring video from his home served as evidence that the charges should be dismissed.
Mario is now preparing to file a lawsuit against the Memphis Police Department, as reported by ABC24. “It destroyed my trust in the Memphis Police Department and ruined my mental [health],” Shaw told the channel. “When I’m out driving around, I’m looking around worrying about a cop targeting me again.”
The accused cops initially tried to justify the actions by saying that the black man was “possibly armed” and that’s why they used “less-lethal methods to safely take the suspect into custody.”
The incident occurred on July 25, 2024. Shaw got into a heated argument when his neighbor’s dog was pooping in his yard. As the dispute continued, his neighbor called the cops, accusing Shaw of being intoxicated and threatening him with a gun. After the police arrived, the man tried to explain his side of the story.
Mario Shaw said that he was bitten, beaten and tased by Memphis Police Department officers on his front porch. He intends to file a lawsuit. https://t.co/evSNyMmOIo
— ABC24 Memphis (@ABC24Memphis) July 8, 2025
Shaw told ABC24, “I came out and talked to one of the officers and explained to him what was going on, I noticed that the officers seemed to be getting kind of aggressive.” He explained that he requested for a supervisor as the cops who were at the scene wasn’t really listening to him.
The man then asked the cops to “get out of his yard,” but they proceeded to attack him instead. Shaw was accused of assaulting them, but his ring footage proved that the cops indeed lied.
“The suspect started to physically swing his fist at Officer Brooks striking him in the face,” the cops reportedly wrote in their report.
“The suspect struck both Officer Shannon and Brooks, the suspect Mario Shaw started to then swing at both officers and also knocked their glasses off.”
Shaw spent a week in jail before he was finally released.
