California Police Brutality Lawyer Blog

A federal jury determined last week the City of Fresno is liable in the death of a man shot and killed by police in October 2009. The eight person jury stated Fresno police officer Mike Palomino used excessive and unreasonable force when he shot 32-year-old Steven Vargas, but cleared Fresno Police Chief Jeff Dyer of any wrongdoing. Vargas was shot by Palomino eight times while he was seated inside of a sport utility vehicle he had just crashed into a parked van. At the time of the shooting, Vargas was purportedly high on drugs and but completely unarmed. Palomino claims he shot Vargas because he believed he was reaching for a weapon.

According to officer Palomino, after Vargas crashed his vehicle he continued hit the gas pedal and ram it into the parked van. A witness at the scene of the accident allegedly flagged the officer down and told him Vargas was armed with a gun. Palomino claimed he shot Vargas when he reached down towards the floor to retrieve what he believed to be a firearm. Vargas' family disputed this account of events based on the locations in which Palomino's bullets struck his body.

During trial, Vargas' family argued his death was part of a larger pattern of police shootings and stated the city ought to require additional training and discipline police officers involved in the shooting of an unarmed suspect. Although police Chief Dyer agreed there was a need for added police officer training to maintain the safety of both officers and the general public, he disagreed that a pattern of unjustified shootings by Fresno police existed. According to an attorney for Vargas' family, the jury unanimously determined police training issues existed within the city's police department.

After two days of deliberations, the federal jury was not able to reach a conclusion regarding a wrongful death claim filed by Vargas' family against the City of Fresno, the police chief, and the officer. Presiding Judge Anthony Ishii instructed jurors in the U.S. District Court trial to return on January 18th to determine a damages award. There is a possibility the city will negotiate a settlement with Vargas' family in the meantime.

Continue reading "Federal Jury Finds Fresno Police Sgt. Used Excessive Force in Shooting Death of Unarmed Man" »

Outrage over alleged abuses of Occupy Wall Street protesters by police officers has inspired artists to act. 46 artists contributed 48 pages of black and white images to collectively publish the Police Brutality Coloring Book. Joe "Heaps" Nelson created the book after an acquaintance, Chelsea Elliott, was filmed being penned in and pepper sprayed by New York police officers during an Occupy Wall Street march through Union Square in September. Nelson stated he was always sympathetic to the movement, but police misconduct across the nation sparked his outrage. According to Nelson, video footage of a University of California, Davis police officer pepper spraying seated students made it clear he wanted to become more involved.

Nelson began contacting artists he knew were sympathetic to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Eventually, a network of artists with their own police abuse stories to tell arose. The coloring book took off from there.

The Police Brutality Coloring Book was created to raise awareness regarding police violence against Occupy Wall Street protesters. Shepard Fairey, a graphic designer best known for creating President Obama's "Hope" poster, is another coloring book contributor. He was arrested by police at Occupy protests a total of 16 times. Fairey has stated the group chose to create a coloring book due to the stark contrast of a normally child friendly medium with the seriousness of the subject matter. According to Fairey, the artists chose to select the medium in order to heighten the effect of the artwork and truly showcase the various instances of police brutality against Occupy protesters.

Fairey believes police regularly commit abuses against citizens because they rarely have to answer for it. Because of this, police brutality is becoming increasingly common. He also believes a large part of the problem is a lack of perspective on the part of police.

Victims of police abuse may file a civil tort claim to seek monetary damages for a wrong that is not criminal in nature such as assault, battery, wrongful death, false arrest or negligence. Additionally, Section 42 U.S.C. 1983 allows victims of police brutality to bring a claim against police for constitutional rights violations. Under California law, an officer who unnecessarily uses excessive force on an individual may also be fined, imprisoned or both.

Continue reading "Artists Outraged by Occupy Abuse Publish Police Brutality Coloring Book" »

Despite several recent claims of inmate abuse by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies, the department rarely forwards the results of internal misconduct investigations on to the district attorney's office for evaluation and possible criminal prosecution. According to Sheriff Lee Baca, a criminal investigation of police brutality often delays departmental disciplinary measures such as suspension and termination. Violence cases where an officer's use of force was appropriate but excessive are generally only reviewed for discipline. Because of this, prosecutors often never learn of allegations of inmate abuse. The head of Los Angeles County's Office of Independent Review, Michael Gennaco, has stated all investigations into police misconduct which was prolonged or resulted in considerable injuries should be forwarded on to the district attorney's office as a matter of course.

Abuse claims at the jail are nothing new. In fact, a jail reform task force was recently created at least in part due to allegations of prisoner abuse by the department. Three months ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began looking into accusations of inmate abuse at the hands of departmental jailers. The United States Attorney's Office has also ordered the department to produce documents related to deputies, jail employees, and any allegations of abuse during the last two years.

Although law enforcement officer disciplinary matters are confidential under California law, a general description of police brutality and misconduct investigations which the department failed to forward on to prosecutors includes:

• A deputy was fired after he allegedly pepper sprayed and punched a prisoner who laid on the floor in the fetal position while others shouted at the deputy to stop.

• A deputy who purportedly grabbed an inmate by the throat, pushed him into a glass window, and knocked him to the ground for smirking at deputies. The deputy was later fired.

• A deputy was fired after he allegedly assaulted an inmate with his elbow repeatedly despite that the inmate was unconscious and bleeding. The inmate suffered brain swelling and required surgery.

• A deputy was suspended after he threw an object at an inmate, pushed him against a wall, and shoved his forearm into the back of the prisoner's head while eight other deputies looked on. No one from the department reported the violence, but video footage of the event was caught on a security camera.

The Sheriff's Department regularly fails to forward allegations of excessive force and abuse by departmental employees to the district attorney's office, but prosecutors also tend to reject those cases which are forwarded due to credibility issues on the part of the prisoner. Last year, however, three deputies were prosecuted and convicted of assault after an inmate suffered a broken cheekbone and other injuries. This ought to occur more often after police misconduct investigations.

Continue reading "Excessive Force Investigations at L.A. County Jail Often Never Shared with District Attorney's Office" »

Last week, twenty-four University of California, Berkeley students and other community members filed a lawsuit against campus officials, campus police, and employees of the Oakland police department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office over two separate instances of alleged police violence against Occupy Cal demonstrators on November 9th. In its complaint, pro-affirmative action activist group Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) alleges U.C. Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau used members of law enforcement to stop demonstrators from voicing disfavor over a plan he put forth to increase tuition and fees.

According to the complaint, members of law enforcement dressed in riot gear tore down tents and beat protesters in order to break up peaceful Occupy Cal Day of Action protests. Police are also alleged to have continued beating protesters as they lay on the ground after their tents were dismantled. At least one plaintiff claims she is still experiencing pain from being beaten with batons. She also stated police violence resulted in fear of further police brutality which prevented students from becoming involved in later protests. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for violations of protesters' First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment constitutional rights. Protesters are also asking that any charges against them be dropped and seeking Chancellor Birgeneau's resignation.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has recently been fraught with allegations of police violence, especially on University of California campuses. On the U.C. Berkeley campus, video footage of multiple instances of alleged brutality against demonstrators, including violent behavior in connection with the BAMN lawsuit, was filmed and posted online. Video footage of members of the U.C. Davis police force dressed in full riot gear using pepper spray on peaceful Occupy protesters also made headlines last month.

In November, photos of injured protesters and allegations of police brutality accompanied many news stories about Occupy demonstrations and encampment evictions across the nation. Police violence in response to peaceful protests merely serves as a deterrent to other would be protesters. As one plaintiff in the BAMN lawsuit has alleged, such scare tactics appear to have worked at Occupy Cal. This illegal behavior on the part of law enforcement is not only wholly unwarranted, but also threatens your constitutional rights.

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