Eagan Police And Dakota County Sued After Man Dies Of Stroke In Custody
The family of Kingsley Fifi Bimpong filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Eagan, Dakota County, and multiple officers, alleging they ignored obvious signs of a stroke while he was in custody. Attorneys say body-cam and jail video show hours of medical distress before staff finally called EMS. Bimpong was declared brain dead three days later.
Civil rights lawsuit filed against Eagan police, Dakota County officers, and county officials
The family of Kingsley Fifi Bimpong, a 50-year-old Minnesota man who died from a massive stroke after being ignored for hours while in police custody, has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Eagan, Dakota County, and multiple law enforcement officers. The suit, filed by civil rights attorneys at Robins Kaplan LLP, accuses police and correctional staff of showing “deliberate indifference” to Bimpong’s clear medical distress — a failure that ultimately cost him his life.
According to the complaint, on the evening of November 16, 2024, Bimpong left work early, telling co-workers he had a headache. While driving home, he was pulled over by an Eagan police officer for a minor traffic violation. Body-worn camera footage shows Bimpong was visibly disoriented, unable to follow directions, recall his name, or explain where he was going.
Instead of recognizing the signs of a medical emergency, officers reportedly assumed Bimpong was under the influence. A Drug Recognition Expert was called to conduct a 12-step evaluation but failed to complete it, deciding it “would just be a whole bunch of time wasted.” Despite no criminal history, no evidence of drugs or alcohol, and no completed evaluation indicating impairment, officers took Bimpong to the Eagan Police Department for a blood draw.
Once at the station, his condition worsened. He drooled onto his beard, nodded off, and showed right-side weakness — all classic stroke symptoms. Paramedics who arrived for the blood draw questioned whether Bimpong should be taken to a hospital, but officers reportedly decided against it because it would require one of them to stay with him.
By the time officers transported Bimpong to the Dakota County Jail, he could barely walk. One officer was caught on body-camera audio saying, “before you got there, I was like, is this dude having a stro—,” before muting his microphone.
The jail intake report shows Bimpong arrived around 1:09 a.m. on November 17. Surveillance video captured him struggling to exit the squad car, dragging his right foot, and needing help to remain upright. He urinated on himself multiple times and rolled on the cell floor in pain for over an hour as correctional officers conducted “well-being” checks but did not call for medical help.
At one point, a correctional officer noted that Bimpong appeared to be foaming at the mouth and having seizure-like activity. After more than three hours, staff finally noticed he was cold, unresponsive, and gray in color. They administered Narcan three times with no response before finally summoning EMS.
By the time he reached the hospital, Bimpong’s brain had suffered irreversible damage from a hemorrhagic stroke. He was declared brain-dead two days later, on November 19, 2024.
“As our complaint alleges, the police and correctional officers acted on incorrect and unfounded assumptions about Kingsley as justification for treating a person suffering from classic stroke symptoms with callous indifference that resulted in his death,” said lead attorney Katie Bennett. “The shocking deliberate indifference from local authorities stripped Kingsley of his last safeguard — the right to basic medical care. No one should lose their life in custody simply because those responsible choose silence and neglect over compassion and responsibility.”
The civil rights team representing Bimpong’s family includes attorneys Katie Bennett, Robert Bennett, Andrew Noel, Marc Betinsky, and Greta Wiessner of Robins Kaplan LLP.