Kenosha Applebee's arrest lawsuit; man speaks, more defendants added

Published July 20, 2026 4:36 PM CDT

A man who was wrongfully arrested at a Kenosha Applebee's in 2023 filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last week against the city of Kenosha and three officers involved. Now, more defendants have been added.

New defendants

The latest:

On Monday, 11 defendants were added to the lawsuit. The new defendants include law enforcement officers from both Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie, as well as groups from the Applebee's company.

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Applebee's and the Kenosha Police Department didn't reply for comment. The Pleasant Prairie Police Department declined to comment.

Related

Man wrongfully arrested at Kenosha Applebee's files civil lawsuit

A man who was wrongfully arrested at a Kenosha Applebee's in 2023 has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Kenosha and three police officers.

"I wasn't myself"

What they're saying:

"Man, I wasn’t even able to sleep. Half of the time, I wasn’t able to eat. I wasn’t myself," Jermelle English Jr. said about his mental state after the incident. "I lost many friends and family members due to the incident that happened to me. It made me feel alone. It made me feel like I wasn’t going to be the same again."

English alleges that his constitutional rights were violated, excessive force was used on him and post-traumatic stress disorder from the event affected his ability to work and care for his son.

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English seeks $5 million in damages. There is no set start date for this lawsuit.

Kenosha Applebee's arrest

The backstory:

According to the lawsuit, police approached English in the Applebee's while he was having dinner because he was suspected to be involved in a hit-and-run. It happened in 2023.

An investigation by the Kenosha Police Department's Internal Affairs said that during the arrest, Kenosha police used an unauthorized hair grab technique and violated additional policies. Police also struck him in the head and upper body.

The two people actually responsible for the hit-and-run were hiding in the bathroom of the Applebee's.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Ben Hanson and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.

The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Jermelle English, lawsuit documents, police department media contacts and court documents.

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