Two Annapolis men are suing the city, its police department, and two police officers in federal court, claiming they were assaulted and wrongfully arrested in 2005.

In the lawsuit, filed March 3, Jose Louis Meneses-Araiza, 27, and Quinton T. Smith, 32, allege that Officer Black and another officer were speaking to a group of Hispanic men they had stopped for a traffic violation and Mr. Meneses-Araiza walked up and offered to translate.

Officer Black ordered him to leave. When Mr. Meneses-Araiza continued to speak to the vehicle's occupants, Officer Black arrested him for disorderly conduct.

The lawsuit alleges that in the process of handcuffing Mr. Meneses-Araizaon in the street and later fingerprinting him at the police station, Officer Black repeatedly punched and kicked him in the chest. Mr. Meneses-Araiza eventually fell down, hit his head and lost consciousness inside the station.

Officers Black and Schreiber - who was taking the fingerprints - quickly called for an ambulance. The lawsuit, however, claims they never told dispatchers Mr. Meneses-Araiza hit his head, leading the paramedics to take him to Anne Arundel Medical Center for a suspected overdose.

At the hospital, a CT scan revealed a head injury and Mr. Meneses-Araiza was taken by helicopter to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. There, he underwent a craniotomy.

The lawsuit alleges Officers Black and Schreiber "hatched a plan" to cover up the abuse after learning the extent of Mr. Meneses-Araiza injuries.