Peoria man sues Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, cites abuse by deputies

A Peoria contractor claims in a lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office that deputies beat and shot him with a stun gun for no reason as he stood outside a concession stand at Phoenix International Raceway last year.

Michael T. Wyman, 50, maintains in his lawsuit that he greeted an old friend with a bear hug near the track's Speed Cantina during a NASCAR race last November when, without warning, a deputy put him in a choke hold. The deputy threw him to the ground, Wyman alleges, and another deputy began shooting Wyman in the leg with a stun gun.

Wyman was charged with resisting arrest, aggravated assault and disorderly conduct for his role in the Nov. 13 incident, but a judge dismissed the charges in March at the request of prosecutors.

Wyman filed a notice of claim against the county in May, offering to settle the issue for $2 million. County officials did not respond, according to Wyman's attorney, so Wyman earlier this month filed a civil suit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the deputies involved in the incident.

"My deputies have a tough job," Arpaio said. "At this point, these are just allegations. I will await the true outcome of this lawsuit before I make any judgments."

Wyman says he made his claim in part because he suffered injuries that left him unable to do the work required for his company, Ricochet Excavating. The company survived the recent recession, but its future is threatened because of Wyman's run-in with deputies, said Daniel Treon, Wyman's attorney.

According to the lawsuit, Wyman saw his friend Ernie Griego near the Speed Cantina about 9 p.m. during a NASCAR Nationwide Series race, and the two greeted each other with "a high five and bear hugs."
Sheriff's deputies saw the exchange differently.

A police report on the incident indicates that a deputy was "alerted to a group of white males that appeared to be intoxicated and were grabbing and pushing one another. The subjects were pushing each other into people that were not part of their group," a deputy wrote.

Deputies were trying to get the group to move, according to the report, when Wyman turned to face Deputy Preston Boyer "and swung his arms at Deputy Boyer striking him on the right side of the face," according to a deputy's report.

When Boyer was struck, another deputy shot Wyman in the back with the stun gun, according to the police report.

Wyman's attorney said the sheriff's report offers only the deputies' perspective. He said the Sheriff's Office could not produce witnesses to verify the events laid out in the police report.

"We think that was an exaggerated statement full of unsubstantiated statements by law enforcement to justify what really, by all accounts, was a bizarre, uniformed attack on Mr. Wyman," Treon said. He said a handful of witnesses acquainted with Wyman, including a firefighter and a 911 operator, could verify Wyman's claims.

Wyman said his first encounter with a deputy came when Boyer came up from behind and began to choke him.

"Surprised, disoriented and unable to see his unidentified attacker, Michael grabbed onto his assailant's arm to try to loosen the choke hold so he could breathe," the lawsuit claims. "Another unknown MCSO deputy shoved Jan (Wyman's wife) aside and tasered Michael in the back."

Wyman's lawsuit and the sheriff's report both indicate that deputies shot Wyman twice with the stun gun, but Wyman's lawsuit claims the deputies went on to stomp on his arms and kick him before handcuffing him. The lawsuit also claims that sheriff's deputies continued to shock Wyman after he was handcuffed and that deputies threatened to stun-gun a Phoenix firefighter who was a friend of Wyman's when he tried to tell the deputies to stop.

Wyman's son, Wade, tried to talk to the deputies during the altercation but was shocked with a stun gun, kneed and kicked by deputies, the lawsuit alleges.

Michael and Wade Wyman both were taken into custody, but Wade was never cited, and a deputy did not write up a report on Wade's involvement, "a clear violation of policy," according to Treon.

Michael Wyman was taken to Fourth Avenue Jail, but officers told deputies to take Wyman to Maricopa Medical Center for treatment of his injuries, according to the complaint.

Wyman continues to experience nerve damage from the stun-gun shock and has undergone surgeries, including a skin graft, to repair damage from the weapon and broken bones from a deputy stomping on Wyman's foot, Treon said. Those injuries have made it difficult for the contractor to perform his work, he said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/09/16/20110916peoria-man-sues-mcso-claims-abuse-deputies.html

Mistaken Identity Leads to Police Beat Down of Phoenix Man, Complaint Alleges

A Phoenix man is suing the City of Phoenix, former Phoenix police Chief Jack Harris, and several others over a beating he says he received from two Phoenix police officers who initially mistook him for a drug dealer they'd previously arrested.

According to the suit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court on Monday, Phoenix resident Terry Daniels was riding his bike north on 11th Avenue approaching West Grand Street about 9:30 p.m. on July 1 of last year.

Two Phoenix police officers, Corey Shibata and Jason Hamernick, were driving down 11th Avenue when they noticed Daniels.

The two officers mistook Daniels for Todd Richardson Sr., a suspected drug dealer the two had arrested the previous year.

The officers stopped to talk with the man they thought was Richardson, realized it wasn't him, and that's where things get a little confusing.

In a police report the officers filed after arresting Daniels, they claim that when they confronted him, his arms were "shaking uncontrollably" and they suspected he was having a drug overdose.

When the officers exited their cruiser to talk with Daniels, they say he pulled a six-inch knife out of his pocket. The officers pulled their guns as the knife-wielding Daniels tried to hide a telephone pole, the officers wrote in their report.

After a brief standoff, the officers note that Daniels dropped the knife and went to his knees. When Hammernick kicked the knife away, the officers say Daniels got up and tried to run.

He was tackled by the cops and roughed up a little bit -- the officers note four to six "knee strikes" to Daniels's upper thigh by Hammernick, while Shibata delivered an additional six to eight "knee strikes."

However, a witness to the beating gives a much different account.

Richard Pinkney watched the beating as he was waiting for a bus at the corner of Grand Street and 11th Avenue. He signed a statement stating the following:

"The officers approached the black man [Daniels] from behind near the center of 11th Avenue, near the north curb line of Grant. The two officers began striking the black man while he was still standing. The black man went to the roadway and assumed a fetal position. The two officers continued striking him and kicking him. Though I could not see what, if anything, was in the hands of the officers, they appeared to be striking him with something other than their fists based on the movement of their arms.

In addition, they were striking him with their fists and kicking him. The officers then drug the black man to the northeast corner of l lth Avenue and Grant where they remained until emergency medical personnel arrived."

In his lawsuit, Daniels claims the officers covered up the details of the attack on Daniels and conspired to present a false description of events in order to evade responsibility for the attack.

Daniels' injuries don't exactly reflect a few "knee strikes" to the thigh, either.

Daniels was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage, a fracture to his left eye socket, six fractured ribs, fractures in his lower back, and bruises along his head, face, arrns, sides and stomach. His left eye was swollen shut.

Daniels is requesting a jury trial where he "respectfully prays" for general and specific damages in an amount to be proven at trial, punitive damages, and other relief the court deems appropriate.

See a copy of the complaint here.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/06/mistaken_identity_leads_to_pol.php

Paralyzed Man Beaten by Phoenix Cops After Officers Say He Ran From Police

A Phoenix man who claims Polio caused severe paralysis on one side of his body is suing the Phoenix Police Department because three officers severely beat him after they claimed he ran from authorities.

In a complaint filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, Refugio Rodriquez says the officers' claim that he ran from police is impossible because of his paralysis.

"He walks with a cane," his attorney, Jimmy Borunda, tells New Times, "but they still beat him up pretty bad."

According to the complaint, Rodriquez was in a church parking lot when he was approached by the three officers.

"It was late at night, and they said they thought he was damaging the building," Borunda says.

When they approached him, Rodriguez claims the officers said "you better not run you fucking wetback." They then slammed him onto the concrete driveway "in a manner which obviously exceeded the minimal amount of force necessary to accomplish a lawful purpose and continued to brutally assault plaintiff Refugio in the driveway," the complaint states.

The officers then hit Rodriquez with a Taser and beat him "with their police-issued long flashlights."

Rodriquez was taken to the Maryvale Precinct, where he claims one of the officers asked him "what's the matter, you can't take an ass-whipping?"

Rodriguez was then taken to the Fourth Avenue Jail, where an intake nurse told him she was going to have him taken by ambulance to the hospital because of the severity of his injuries. However, Rodriquez claims, the nurse came back a few minutes later and told him "if she sent him to the hospital emergency, she was told she would lose her job."

After he was released on bail, Rodriquez was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where the emergency doctor told him "he could have died because a blood clot near his brain was beginning to develop,"

The problem with Rodriquez's lawsuit, his attorney points out, is that he already pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer, which will definitely be brought up should the case go to trial.

"He only pled to [assaulting an officer] so he could get out of jail," Borunda claims.

Rodriguez is seeking punitive damages and medical expenses for assault, battery, negligence, and civil rights violations. The city of Phoenix, Maricopa County, Maricopa County Correctional Health Services, and the three Phoenix police officers are all named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The Phoenix Police Department did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/05/complaint_paralyzed_man_beaten.php

Tempe Police "Party Patrol" Brutalize ASU Golfer, Harass His Friends on Facebook, According to Lawsuit

Next time you're partying at Arizona State University, consider Noah Frochtzwajg, ASU student and aspiring golfer.

He was enjoying the company of friends at 2 a.m. on Sunday August 29, 2010, when the Tempe Police came knocking at his apartment.

Frochtzwaig saw two officers and opened the door to let them in. Once he opened the door they stormed the room with three more officers and knocked him to the ground.

From there, they handcuffed him, forced his friends to leave "one by one," and laughed at him, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court against the Tempe Police Department yesterday.

After 30 minutes, the police officers uncuffed Frochtzwaig and released him without pressing charges. Frochtzwaig addressed a complaint to Tempe PD's Internal Affairs office -- but then the sergeant in charge of the investigation started harassing his friends on Facebook with "personal and embarrassing questions."

The complaint further alleges that Tempe Police employs a squad of police officers known as the "Party Patrol" whose job is to go around shutting down parties.

But, the complaint alleges, their job isn't "simply [to] disrupt parties whose noise, etc., exceeded legal boundaries, or where underaged drinking had been established."

It's to "raid any student social gathering."

The complaint calls the police's actions "heavy handed and needlessly forceful," claims numerous abrasions and injuries to Frochtzwajg's body, and damage to his golf career.

He was going to attend the PGA's qualifying school last year when this incident occurred, causing harm to his career, according to the complaint.

"Golf was Mr. Frochtzwajg's first love, and the injuries have caused significant loss of enjoyment of life," it reads.

The complaint alleges nine counts, including unlawful civil rights violations, assault, battery, and wrongful imprisonment. It seeks unspecified amounts in damages.

Tempe Police Department Sergeant Steve Carbajal declined to discuss the pending litigation, per department rules.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/05/tempe_police_party_patrol_brut.php

Phoenix police officer investigated over shove captured on video

A 6½-year veteran of the Phoenix Police Department is the subject of a criminal and internal investigation after a video surfaced on YouTube that shows him roughly shoving a girl during a police call, authorities said.

The officer, Patrick Larrison, has been put on administrative leave pending the investigations, Phoenix police officials said in a press release.

Sgt. Trent Crump, a department spokesman, said the incident occurred in January but that it did not come to police attention until Tuesday night when a department employee spotted the video on the Internet and notified a police supervisor.

The incident purportedly involved the girl in an altercation with a woman in a parking lot. The woman, apparently a parent, and the girl are seen on the ground for some time; the girl managed to get free and was walking away when an officer responding to the scene approaches her from behind and knocks her off her feet.

She's seen lying on the ground motionless for a short while; the officer then handcuffs her and walks her back toward a police vehicle.

The incident reportedly occurred near Ombudsman Charter School near 40th Street and Thomas Road.

"The video at face value is of great concern to the Department and we are taking the matter very seriously," Crump wrote in the press release.

Authorities said that in addition to the criminal and internal probes, Larrison was immediately placed on administrative leave and the juvenile division of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office was notified.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/04/20110504phoenix-police-officer-youtube-shove-brk04-ON.html

Phoenix officer who scuffled with councilman faces new assault claim

The Phoenix police officer who last year was involved in an incident with a Phoenix City Council member is now being investigated for an alleged assault, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

Sgt. Trent Crump said Officer Brian Authement was involved in a Jan. 13 incident "on a sports field and between two participants" in Phoenix. Crump said that while the incident is under investigation by the department's Special Investigations Detail, Authement will be placed in a "non-enforcement position."

"He'll be on a desk while we look into this," Crump said.

Authement last March was involved in an incident at a house fire in which he reportedly threw Phoenix Councilman Michael Johnson, the city's only African-American council member, to the ground and handcuffed him. Johnson at the time claimed civil-rights abuses. The officer claimed Johnson assaulted him.

Johnson and Authement have since resolved their disagreement, ending criminal and internal investigations into the matter.

Crump said that Authement has worked for the Police Department for just under three years. His current assignment is in the Squaw Peak Precinct.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/01/26/20110126phoenix-officer-scuffled-councilman-faces-new-assault-claim.html

Lawsuit alleges Mesa police beating

A Mesa man who claims he was beaten by several Mesa police officers while being arrested has filed a lawsuit against the department. Aaron Belander is serving a 30-month prison term for aggravated assault, but on Nov. 4 he filed a lawsuit in which he claims seven officers broke two of his ribs and nose during the Sept. 9, 2009, beating.

Caught on tape

The entire nighttime incident was captured on video, which was shot by a Mesa police helicopter hovering overhead. At the time, police learned Belander was free from jail while he awaited trial on a suspected home invasion in summer 2009. Police had been watching Belander's vehicle after they learned he may have a handgun, which is illegal for a convicted felon.

Traffic stop and chase

The infrared video shot from the helicopter shows Belander stop his pickup outside Highland High School in Gilbert. Two minutes later, he was surrounded by nine police vehicles.

A short time later, Belander could be seen fleeing from his pickup and police officers gave chase on foot. Belander later stopped and threw his hands up to surrender.

Seconds later, an officer shot Belander with a Taser, and he fell to the ground. In police reports, the officers claimed Belander refused to show his hands and reached for his waist. Once on the ground, Belander began fighting with officers, who admitted in their reports to kicking and wrestling with him.

Belander was hit with a Taser a second time before being placed in handcuffs.

Injuries

Belander pleaded guilty to felony attempted aggravated assault for an unrelated incident on Sept. 3, 2009. In court documents, Belander's attorney, Geoffrey H. Fish, claims the attack left his client with a broken nose, two fractured ribs and "numerous contusions and lacerations."

The lawsuit accuses the officers of using excessive force, negligence, battery and violating Belander's constitutional rights.

Mesa police and city officials generally do not speaking on pending litigation. In May, Belander and his attorney offered to settle the incident with the city for $350,000.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2011/01/11/20110111mesa-police-beating-lawsuit0112.html

Bar Patron: Bouncers, Scottsdale Officer Used Excessive Force

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- A Scottsdale man says a Scottsdale police officer and bouncers at Jackrabbit Supper Club used excessive force when they subdued him during a bar brawl in July 2010.

Surveillance videotape from the Old Town Scottsdale nightclub shows (victim's name removed by request, hereafter referred to as ***) standing on the sidelines when the brawl began outside the bar.

"I wasn't trying to fight back," said ***.

The tape shows *** reach up to as a bouncer turns toward him.

The tape then shows two bouncers grab *** and slam him into a wall.

After turning him around, a Scottsdale officer shows up and repeatedly strikes *** with his baton.

*** is off screen during several of the strikes.

"They were barbarians. Almost brutal," said *** of the incident.

A photograph taken afterward shows a large bruise covering a portion of ***'s right leg.

"The manner in which they acted was absolutely uncalled for," said ***.

Sgt. Mark Clark, a Scottsdale police spokesperson, said the surveillance tape tells a different story about how *** reacted to the brawl.

"He lunged towards one of the doorman and stuck out his arm, like who knows what he was going to do," said Sgt. Clark.

Sgt Clark said the Scottsdale police officer repeatedly reported that he repeatedly asked *** to get on the ground before striking him with his baton.

"The video shows that he was trying to get away. If he was doing as the office asked him to do and commanded him to do there probably wouldn't have been a confrontation," said Clark.

The courts will decide what really happened during the incident.

*** was charged with disorderly conduct and failing to obey a police officer and will appear in court early next year.

*** also plans to file a notice of claim against Scottsdale police and Jackrabbit Supper Club for $3.5 million dollars.

After CBS 5 contacted Scottsdale police about the incident, Clark asked internal affairs investigators to review the videotape of the officer hitting ***.

http://www.kpho.com/news/26253162/detail.html

Ex-Chandler officer Dan Lovelace, at center of Florence prison abuse probe

A former Chandler cop now working as a Pinal County detention officer is under internal investigation after using pepper spray on a detainee.

Dan Lovelace, who was at the center of two wrongful death suits that cost Chandler more than $4.6 million, was hired by the Sheriff's Office in mid-2009.

A Sheriff's Office statement said Lovelace used a "short burst of pepper spray" on an ICE detainee after he had defecated on the floor of a holding area and did not respond to detention officers' commands Dec. 11.

Lovelace has been transferred to another position within the department and does not have contact with inmates until the investigation is complete. Results are expected later this week.

The statement said the Professional Standards Unit reviews each use-of-force incident.

Lovelace shot and killed an Ahwatukee woman trying to fill a forged prescription at a Chandler drug store drive-through in 2002 while her toddler sat in the back seat. He was fired and charged with second-degree murder. A jury acquitted him, and in 2005 Lovelace fought unsuccessfully to get his job back.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu -- a Chandler police officer and union leader before voters put him in office -- sat with supporters at some of those proceedings. In 2009, he hired Lovelace to work in a Florence jail.

Babeu in 2009 said the college-educated Lovelace was hired in May and completed an eight-week detention officer training course in Tucson where he was selected to speak to his graduating class.

He is working in the Pinal County Adult Detention Center in Florence, which houses up to 1,504 pretrial inmates, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, and individuals sentenced to county lockup. Corrections officers do not carry weapons, nor do they enforce the law, Babeu said.

The 2002 shooting death of Dawn Rae Nelson, 35, ended Lovelace's career on the Chandler force but many came to his defense. Two of the jurors who acquitted him of murder charges later befriended him and showed up at personnel hearings as Lovelace fought to get his job back.

A motorcycle officer at the time of shooting death, Lovelace also had been involved in a 2000 high-speed chase that killed a college student. He was given a letter of reprimand for not using his siren in the chase.

The city settled wrongful-death lawsuits in both cases and paid out more than $4.6 million.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/2010/12/21/20101221pinal-lovelace-under-investigation.html

Accused Detention Officer Resigns from Job

MCSO detention officer Kevin Gerster

PHOENIX - The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that detention officer Kevin Gerster resigned on Wednesday following his arrest earlier in the week on aggravated assault charges.

A jail surveillance video shows the former Arizona detention officer stepping on the neck of an inmate who was restrained and bent over a table.

The video shows the inmate, William Hughes, handcuffed behind his back, bent over a table, and surrounded by three officers. Gerster walks up to the men, gets on the table and steps on Hughes' neck.

The video of the assault also shows the officer later punching Hughes in the back of the head four times and kicking him in the leg once. Investigators also said they believe he slammed Hughes' head up against a wall in his jail cell, although there is no video evidence of that.

Sheridan said Hughes did not require medical treatment and didn't have any apparent neck injuries, although he had some bruising and a cut on his forehead, which investigators believe happened in his jail cell.
Gerster posted a $36,000 secured appearance bond Tuesday after he was booked into jail on aggravated assault charges stemming from Hughes' assault and from a June incident, which was uncovered during the recent investigation.

In a June video also released to the media, Gerster is shown punching inmate Michael Flores in the jaw.

Gerster also faces charges of accessing criminal history and one count of computer tampering. The sheriff's office said Gerster looked up the address of an ex-inmate for his friend, whose ex-wife was dating the inmate and who allegedly assaulted the two with a box cutter after getting the address from Gerster.

Another officer, Alan Keesee, who is shown in the November video slamming Hughes' head against the table, was not arrested, but the sheriff's office recommended he also be charged with aggravated assault.

Sheridan said the sheriff's office decided to release the video to the public because he and Sheriff Joe Arpaio "took it very seriously."

"We were upset with the actions of both these officers and we quickly initiated a criminal investigation," he said.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/crime/detention-officer-resigns-12-2-2010

Phoenix internal-affairs detectives investigating South Mountain Precinct

Phoenix police on Thursday confirmed that internal-affairs detectives have been investigating off-duty misconduct within South Mountain Precinct since 2007.

The complex investigation is focused on officers' off-duty security work - such as the assignments guarding nightclubs or working crowd control at parades or football games in which they earn extra money, Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump said.

Crump said the department's Professional Standards Bureau considers the investigation "still pending and still open." He declined to address specifics other than that detectives are looking into the actions of officers assigned to off-duty assignments in south Phoenix, rather than solely focusing on officers stationed at South Mountain Precinct.

Phoenix officers are authorized by the department to work off-duty security in uniform. They are also required to follow department policy.

Cmdr. Chuck Miiller, who oversees the police department's Public Affairs Bureau, said Friday that the recent reassignment of the South Mountain Precinct commander and several lieutenants was unconnected to the ongoing internal-affairs investigation into off-duty misconduct by officers.

Miiller said the reassignment of Cmdr. Jeff Alexander, who was replaced three weeks ago by Cmdr. Chris Crockett, and several lieuterants -- including Lts. Mark Tallman and Chris Moore of the Ahwatukee substation -- were part of a separate decision made by the department's chiefs to restructure leadership in the precinct.

Tallman and Moore will be replaced by Lt. Matt Giordano, also of Public Affairs Bureau, and Lt. Russ Frederiksen.

Republic reporter Cathryn Creno contributed to this report.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/11/04/20101104phoenix-police-south-mountain-task-force-internal-affairs1105.html

Mesa police video shows violent arrest, suspect files claim

MESA, AZ - A man who was reportedly Tased, kicked and punched on the ground by Mesa police officers has filed a notice of claim against the Mesa Police Department, saying the officers knowingly and intentionally breached their duties and exceeded their authority, and that he was taken into custody in a negligent manner.
A video of the chase and arrest shot by a Mesa police helicopter shows Aaron Belander raising his arms in the air. A voice from the chopper says, “He’s got his hands up, he’s got his hands up. I don’t see anything in his hands.”

“We’ve got a man who appears to have stopped running, doesn’t seem to be making any types of aggressive movements towards anyone, and he’s Tased in the back,” said Belander’s attorney, Matt Schwartzstein. “The moment he falls down, he’s kicked in the head.”

Police reports from the officers involved that night last November paint a very different picture. The officers said they were conducting the high-risk traffic stop of a violent convicted felon who did not comply with commands to show his hands. The reports say police were tipped off that Belander had a gun.

“The officers did note in their reports that he had a history of violence in his past,” said Schwartzstein. “I did not see any crimes of violence that he was convicted of as of November 6th, 2009.”

According to police reports, Belander drove away in his truck during that traffic stop, initiating a chase that ended at Highland High School, where Belander got out of the truck and started running. Police reports say Belander threw a gun on the ground during the chase.

The video shows officers catching up to Belander, who stops running and raises his hands in the air. A voice apparently from the helicopter communicating to officers on the ground, advises them that Belander has his arms up and does not appear to have anything in his hands.

Officers wrote in their reports that they believed Belander was reaching for his midsection, where he may have had a gun, and that he did not comply with verbal commands to get on the ground. Several officers also stated that Belander resisted arrest, fighting, kicking and grabbing an officer’s arm as they tried to take him into custody.

“He had his hands up and he wasn't moving-- that changed from the moment they Tased him in the back,” said Schwartzstein. “They kicked him in the head, and then they kicked him again in the side and in the arm and it went on from there. It's hard to say at what point a person is resisting arrest or just protecting themselves.”

One officer said he tried to kick Belander in the shoulder to subdue him, but ended up kicking him in the face because he was flailing around.

“For all I know, he was convulsing after being kicked in the head,” said Schwartzstein.

Belander’s attorneys say the video shows six officers Tasing Belander multiple times and delivering dozens of blows to the suspect after he surrendered and was on the ground and did not make any threatening movements.

A medical exam at the jail concluded Belander suffered cuts, scrapes and broken bones. Belander’s notice of claim says he may have also suffered memory loss and posttraumatic stress.

Belander is behind bars. His attorneys filed a notice of claim for $350,000.

None of the officers involved have been placed on leave.

It is the Mesa Police Department’s policy not to comment on ongoing internal investigations.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/mesa/mesa-police-video-shows-violent-arrest,-suspect-files-claim

Joe Arpaio's Guards Break Woman's Arm, ICE Releases Her on Own Recognizance

Maria del Carmen Garcia Martinez, after being released from ICE custody.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a suspected illegal immigrant Thursday night after it was determined that her arm had been broken while she was in MCSO custody.

Maria del Carmen Garcia Martinez was released on her own recognizance, her left arm slung in a cast after she received treatment at St. Joseph's. She had been turned over to ICE earlier in the day by the MCSO. ICE took her to St. Joseph's for medical attention, photographed her injuries and released her with a pending court date around 8 p.m. from its offices on Central Ave.

Martinez, being greeted by her family outside ICE's Central Avenue HQ.

Martinez, 46, was met by her family, Respect/Respeto activist Lydia Guzman and a couple of reporters, including yours truly. Her left arm was swollen as was her leg and ankle. As her daughter Sandra translated, she explained that she was recently arrested by the Phoenix Police Department, after she was questioned about posting signs for a yard sale.

She said she was arrested for a having a fraudulent I.D., even though her I.D. was an out-of-date I.D. card from California, according to her. Martinez was then collared and booked into MCSO custody.

(Oddly, the Phoenix PD's on-call spokesperson, an Officer Holmes, said he could find no record of Martinez in their system.)

While in custody at Lower Buckeye Jail, Martinez said she was brutalized by six MCSO detention officers, who were trying to get her to put her fingerprints on a voluntrary removal order, a document wherein an undocumented foreign national gives his or her consent to be repatriated.

(Lydia Guzman asserted that sometimes MCSO will attempt to get a fingerprint instead of a signature for the VR form. An ICE spokesman had no immediate explanation for this procedure.)

Martinez refused, as was her right, but the officers tried to force her, she said. They stepped on her, twisted her arm, and beat her. She noticed that one of the officers was Hispanic.

"Why are you doing this to me, when you came from Mexico also," she told the Hispanic guard.

She was placed in a cell by herself, and later that night she was visited by eight MCSO officers, who warned her to sign the VR, or, "We're all going to get you," she said they told her.

Martinez's right hand was swollen, and stained with blue ink.

A fellow inmate advised Martinez's daughter that her mother had been beat down. She feared for her mother's life, and advised her lawyers, who filed an emergency stay on Martinez's behalf.

According to her daughter Sandra, Martinez was a housemom, who stayed home and took care of the family. Martinez's husband works as a handyman. They came here three years ago from California, looking for a less expensive way of life.

"I'm proud of her, and I'm glad that she's out," said Sandra, her eyes welling with tears. "I couldn't sleep. I would think of her, and cry every night because I missed her so much."

Ironically, because the MCSO has apparently abused her, Martinez may get to stay in this country permanently, noted Guzman, who has been following the case since Martinez was arrested.

For updates on this item, check this related Bird column, and this Feathered Bastard blog update.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/03/joe_arpaios_goons_break_womans.php