Lawsuit: Police ‘viciously’ beat black teen pulled over for speeding
(The AEGIS Alliance) – Four California law enforcement officers “viciously beat” a black teenager they pulled over for speeding, which left him with a boot imprint on his face as well as a broken nose, according to a federal lawsuit.
Police pulled over Devin Carter for speeding on December 30 in Stockton, California where video footage released on Saturday reveals a police officer who has not been identified using force as he pulled him out of his car.
“As Devin Carter laid on the ground in a fetal position, one officer viciously struck him in the face with his knee,” the lawsuit says. “Officers’ body camera footage shows that multiple officers began to repeatedly punch, knee, and kick Devin Carter in his face, neck, and back as he laid in a fetal position screaming in agony.”
The video shows 17-year-old Carter shouting that he was “not resisting” as Officers Daniel Valarde, Michael Stiles, Vincent Magana, and also Omar Villapudua forcefully yanked him out of his vehicle. The teenager continuously shrieks in pain as one police officer makes a demand for him to “give him your hands,” the dramatic video reveals.
The suit asserts the teenager had his hands “visibly raised” over the car’s steering wheel while he waited to surrender prior to “things quickly turning violent,” that left him with bruised eyes and scuff marks as well as a boot or shoe imprint on the left side of his face.
“It was unnecessary for multiple officers to repeatedly punch, knee, and kick Carter in the face, neck, and back when Carter demonstrated no signs of resistance,” the lawsuit reads.
Two of the police officers involved in the occurrence, Stiles and Villapudua, have actually since been terminated from the department, John Burris, a lawyer for Carter’s noted.
Burris compared the teenager’s December experience with cops to that of Rodney King, a black guy that was beaten by Los Angeles cops in March of 1991, resulting in riots when a jury acquitted 4 white police officers that were captured in a video clip.
“The officers’ conduct was so atrocious that they should be criminally prosecuted,” Burris stated in a press release. “These vicious cops acted like a pack of wolves, and Devin was their evening meal.”
The teenager’s mom, Jessica Carter, stated that seeing her defenseless boy on the video footage has been her “worst nightmare.”
“No mother should see or hear her son beaten by police and helplessly crying from the pain,” Jessica Carter stated.
All 4 police officers continue to be under investigation by the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones has claimed 2 of the police officers, Villapudua as well as Stiles, were “well outside” the boundaries of department policy and training throughout the ordeal. Those two officers were terminated last week, according to CBS Sacramento.
“Our department has policies that state we should make attempts to avoid striking an arrestee around the head and neck is when possible,” Jones stated. “Given this set of circumstances, I cannot and will not condone excessive force.”
Jones likewise made note of the use of profanity by police officers in the video, claiming it was “unwarranted” and less than professional.
“Don’t f–king move,” one police officer yelled to Carter as he came close to the teenager’s vehicle following a short chase. “Don’t f–king move. Take your seatbelt off. Take your f–king seatbelt off!”
The other police officers, Valarde as well as Magana, have been disciplined for their roles in the case, Jones claimed.
Along with his injuries, Carter, that was booked on charges of averting and also resisting authorities, “continues to suffer” from psychological distress after the ordeal, the lawsuit says.
Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
