Prestigious Chicago Law Firm Handling Case of Sarasota Man Beaten by Police

On February 16th, a traffic stop escalated quickly and left Govinda Howell in a coma. Howell, a 40-year-old who suffers the long-term effects of a childhood traumatic brain injury was a passenger in the vehicle. Police state that during the traffic stop, they noticed that Howell was acting unusually. He reportedly refused to respond to commands and appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance. Police indicate that a violent scuffle ensued, during which police state he appeared to ingest drugs. A viral video that was made by a witness to the incident illustrates that the people who were with Howell were desperately attempting to get the police to understand that he suffered from an underlying mental disorders.

The family of Govinda Howell has retained Antonio Romanucci of Romanucci & Blandin in Chicago to handle the case. Romanucci & Blandin is well-known for winning one of the largest verdicts in a police misconduct lawsuit at $44.7 million. Romanucci is calling for full transparency and an independent outside investigation by FDLE.