After telling police that he was high on an illegal substance, a man resisted arrest and fought against three officers. However, even after injuring one of the responding officers, he decided to sue them.
Shortly after midnight, Medford Police Department received a call that a man had gone behind the counter at the local Circle K convenience store and would not leave. When an officer arrived, he found Noel Palomera-Vasquez walking around inside the store with a rolling suitcase in one hand and a dog on a chain in the other, KMVU reports.
Shortly after police confronted him, the 6-foot, 265-pound suspect moved outside the store and began obsessively checking his cell phone, refusing to head toward the police cruiser parked just feet away. He then freely admitted to the officer that he was high on methamphetamine.
“What are you doing,” the officer asks.
“Huh? Oh, it’s just for me. It’s just for me,” Palomera-Vasquez says as he holds his cell phone close to his face.
“What drugs did you do today?” the officer asks.
“Meth, sir. I’m just tripping so hard,” he answers.
When the officer attempts to get Palomera-Vasquez to go to his SUV, things escalated. Unable to get the suspect to walk to the car, the officer forces him to sit on the sidewalk. When he tries to take the suspect’s cell phone from him, a physical struggle ensues.
Backup quickly arrives and a female officer jumps into the fray to help restrain Palomera-Vasquez. The officers repeatedly punch the suspect in the head and face and even deploy a Taser at him, yet neither seem to have any effect. Finally, a third officer arrives and is able to help handcuff the suspect and place leg shackles and a hobble on his ankles.
The officers try to calm Palomera-Vasquez, telling him that an ambulance is on the way in case he is hurt. The suspect was transported to the hospital, where medical professionals noted that he had “abrasions” but was treated and released to Jackson County Jail, KDRV reports. A Medford Police officer was also injured in the scuffle.
Palomera-Vasquez secured a legal team and decided to file a lawsuit for “excessive force” against the officers involved in his arrest. Attorneys Matthew Rowan and Christine Herbert claim that their client was abused and that the video of the arrest “speaks for itself.”
Medford Police reviewed the video and confirmed that the use of force was determined to be within policy. The department said that “force is used in less than 3 percent of arrests” and that it takes abuse very seriously.
The City of Medford also reviewed the bodycam footage pending the investigation, acknowledging that the suspect suffered “some abrasions” and that a police officer was also injured.
“The individual was physically resistive when officers attempted to take him into custody, resulting in an exchange on the ground. During the exchange, focused blows and a Taser were utilized in order to obtain control of the suspect. After the suspect was successfully restrained, at the request of Medford Police Department, he was immediately checked by independent medical personnel,” the City said. “The suspect received some abrasions during the exchange and was taken to the hospital for evaluation before being booked at the Jackson County Jail. A Medford Police Department officer was also injured in the exchange.”
The officers will remain under investigation until a decision is made. Sadly, each time an officer is accused, they are taken away from their duties and prevented from serving the community until an investigation has rendered their actions reasonable.
A suspect was, by his own admission, high on an illegal drug, non-complaint, resisting arrest, and physically violent to the point that he injured an officer. Still, he decided to sue the responding officers, taking money and resources away from law-abiding taxpayers.
