A Springfield man has sued two police officers and the city, claiming the officers used “excessive force” while arresting him.

Willie Flowers, 41, filed suit last week in federal court against Springfield officers Nicholas Hernandez-Renfro and Terrence Davis. The “violent” arrest led to Flowers' front tooth being knocked out, an emergency room visit and medical bills, according to his attorney, Louis Meyer.

Flowers is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, though the lawsuit doesn’t list an amount. Meyer said Flowers was still getting an estimate on how much it would cost to replace his tooth.

Hernandez-Renfro has been with the Springfield Police Department for four years, while Davis is a 17-year veteran of the department.

“We cannot respond regarding specifics of the case at this time,” city attorney Jim Zerkle wrote in an email. “However, Springfield police officers receive training regarding the use of force, and the city will represent all defendants in the suit.”

Flowers’ arrest happened about 2:20 a.m. May 6 at Dirty South, a 3 a.m. bar commonly known as Mac’s Lounge at 1231 E. Cook St. The bar frequently hires off-duty police officers to help with crowd control, and according to the arrest report obtained by The State Journal-Register, Hernandez-Renfro and Davis were working off-duty that night.

Flowers was with his wife at the bar. He got upset when a man touched his wife and got into an argument with him and his three friends. The bar’s owner, Macarthur Frazier, asked Flowers to leave “so nothing would happen,” according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Flowers agreed to leave but had his wife’s drink in hand. While he was walking toward the exit, Hernandez-Renfro told Flowers he needed to finish the drink before leaving. He tried to give the drink to his wife and was told by Davis he had to leave.

After Flowers tried to explain why he was going back inside, Davis said he was under arrest, the lawsuit stated.

Davis “violently grabbed” Flowers by the arm and began to perform a wrist lock, according to the lawsuit. Hernandez-Renfro then came from behind and threw Flowers to the ground.

According to the narrative Hernandez-Renfro provided for the arrest report, Flowers “continuously pulled away” and turned to face Davis “in an aggressive manner.” Flowers questioned why he had to leave Dirty South and why he was being arrested and also disagreed with the reason for his arrest, Hernandez-Renfro reported.

“To secure the arrest and prevent injury to Officer Davis, I grabbed the subject from behind (wrapped my arms around him) and took him down to the ground,” Hernandez-Renfro reported.

According to a “use of force” form submitted by Hernandez-Renfro, Flowers committed “defensive resistance,” one of the definitions being “pulled away.” He checked off “minor visible injury” with “no medical treatment required” for Flowers on the form.

Another officer, Joshua Davis, transported Flowers to the jail. He saw a scrape on Flowers’ chin, according to his narrative in the arrest report. Flowers told him that he was missing a tooth so he looked where Flowers had been on the ground but couldn’t find it.

The medical staff at the jail requested Flowers go to the hospital to make sure he didn’t have a concussion from hitting the floor, Officer Joshua Davis wrote in his report. At the hospital, Flowers said he didn’t want medical treatment and “just wanted to go to the jail to bond out,” according to Davis.

Flowers found out the preliminary charges of criminal trespass and resisting arrest stemming from the May 6 incident were dropped when he appeared in court, his attorney said.

Contact Crystal Thomas: 788-1528, crystal.thomas@sj-r.com, twitter.com/crystalclear224.