AN African-American man has spoken of his terror after he was "beaten" by one of the same cops caught on film in the deadly arrest of George Floyd.

Lamar Ferguson sued Tou Thao, who was seen on camera as his colleague Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of Floyd until he passed out, in 2017 for excessive use of force, and told The Sun he was "terrified" when he was "beaten" by the cop and officer Robert Thunder, as he walked down an alley with his pregnant fiancee.

Ferguson and his partner Brittany, who was eight months pregnant at the time, were walking through an alleyway in October 2014 after a hospital visit.

They were just four blocks from where George Floyd died in Minneapolis when they were stopped by the two officers.

Ferguson told The Sun they claimed he appeared "suspicious" and asked him to hand over his weapons, but he didn't have any.

"They had no reason to stop me, they started asking me a whole bunch of questions, where I was going," he said.

"They didn't find no drugs or any weapons.

"[Thao] was the most aggressive one, I was in handcuffs within the first few minutes of the incident. I was horrified.

"I was still in the alleyway, they started swinging me around and slammed me on the ground."

The 33-year-old alleges Thunder climbed on top of him, while Thao punched and kicked him in front of his terrified partner, who stood beside them feeling helpless.

In a deposition at the time, Thao claimed they arrested Ferguson due to an outstanding warrant and he only punched him after his hand slipped out of the handcuffs.

They ran Ferguson's ID through the National Crime Information Center, but no warrant showed up in the system, the lawsuit said.

The officers took him to hospital for medical treatment before escorting him to jail, wearing only a T-shirt and underwear, after rejecting requests for him to get dressed, according to the complaint.

Ferguson says he was left with a multitude of injuries, including broken teeth, damage to his face, back and shoulders, along with long-lasting emotional issues.

"I was hospitalized for four days. I had a major sublux to my face, I got four stitches and had to wear a brace for two weeks," he said.

"I was terrified of being around police officers, I had to speak to a therapist, I didn't like the sound of handcuffs, or the sound of keys, I had night sweats for a long time."

He was charged with assaulting the two officers, but later cleared at trial and a lawyer approached him regarding a civil suit.

Ferguson, who works as a property manager, first saw the traumatic video of George Floyd on Facebook after his death.

He said: "When I first saw the officer, it was an eerie feeling, I didn't like that.

"I hope he gets what he deserves, he was so aggressive [with me]. If that was a citizen, he'd be in jail already. They need to go where they would put us.

"I'm sorry that it happened, and I hope everyone comes together as one. There needs to be a new police policy and training policy…

"At least people know this wasn't the first time this has happened, and it's not the first officer to have done this."

Ferguson settled his civil suit out of court and was given $25,000, with Thao only admitting to punching him after he "actively resisted arrest".

The compensation was spent on court costs, childcare and hospital fees, leaving him with nothing after the life-changing ordeal.

Asked if the officers ever apologized for what happened to him, he simply replied: "No."

Ferguson says his family, including mom Sandra, 53, were "terrified" after his incident, with his mother telling The Sun she cried while watching the footage of Floyd.

He was arrested Sunday night for an alleged forgery at a deli and officers claimed he resisted arrest.

"I cried because it's just cruel, it's something that didn't have to happen, over $20, it's just crazy, Sandra said.

"Today is when I realized it was the same officer, so I went and got the paperwork.

"We just don't trust the police at all because of the things that they do. It's sad they're doing it to black people, but that's just the way it is.

"It's not just happening here, it's happening all over. It's like we’re not human or something, like our boys are trash or whatever, they treat them how they want to treat them, it's wrong."

Thao has been the subject of six complaints, five of which resulted in no disciplinary action although one remains open.

Both Tao and colleague Derek Chauvin, along with two other officers, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng, have been fired from the Minneapolis Police Department following Floyd's death. 

Altogether Chauvin was also part of three officer-involved shootings and subject to 13 complaints during his 19 years at the department, all of which were closed without discipline. 

Following the three shootings he was placed on paid leave – which is standard procedure – and then reinstated. 

The Sun reached out to four lawyers representing the officers in the case along with Minneapolis Police for comment, who did not respond to requests for comment.

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