Eastern District of California Blog

Man Punched By Police Officer During Questionable Jaywalking Stop To File EDCA Suit

The Del Paso Heights man repeatedly punched by a Sacramento police officer during a questionable jaywalking stop alleges he was abused in the Sacramento County Main Jail during his subsequent arrest.

In a lengthy interview, Nandi Cain Jr. said that the arresting police officer and Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies painfully restrained him, forcibly stripped him as part of an unwarranted psychiatric hold and called him disparaging obscenities.

Cain, 24, said he will file a federal civil rights lawsuit by Monday against both the city and county of Sacramento.

Sac Bee, 4/23/17

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article146319649.html#storylink=cpy

 

Female Deputy's Suit Accuses Yolo Sheriff Of Sex Harassment

A veteran female sheriff's deputy in Yolo County is accusing longtime Sheriff Ed Prieto of subjecting her to protracted sexual harassment, culminating in his offer to trade an assignment for oral sex.

Robin Gonzalez claims in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that the blatant conduct has continued for almost her entire 11 years under Prieto's command.

Sacramento Bee, 7/11/13

Taser Civil Rights Lawsuit Brought By Double Amputee Against Merced Starts Tomorrow

A civil trial is expected to begin Tuesday in federal court in Fresno in the lawsuit of a legless man who sued the city of Merced after a police officer used a Taser on him in an incident about four years ago.

The plaintiff, Gregory Williams, 44, claims Merced police violated his constitutional rights during an incident at his 2355 K St. apartment Sept. 11, 2009. Officers had responded to Williams' residence to investigate a report of a domestic disturbance.

Williams, a double amputee, alleges that during the incident a Taser was used on him without cause by officer John Pinnegar.

Merced Sun-Star,7/8/13

Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2013/07/08/3101199/taser-lawsuit-against-merced-set.html#storylink=cpy

Minors Claim Fresno Police Tasered and Drowned Dad

Fresno police drowned a man by Tasering and hogtying him, then sticking a garden hose "onto (his) face and mouth" when he pleaded for water, the man's two children claim in Federal Court.

The two minor children, I.R. and H.R., claim that in the summer of 2011 Fresno police restrained their father, Raul Rosas, at a friend's house while responding to a domestic disturbance call.

The children say their father was not armed and "had not committed a crime."

Courthouse News, 4/10/12; Civil Complaint, filed 4/6/12.

Women In Alleged Assault By Modesto Officer Files Claim

An attorney has filed a claim against the city seeking $4 million in damages for the woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by a Modesto police officer in January.

The tort claim filed last week says the Jan. 5 incident caused the woman to suffer bodily injury and extreme emotional distress, and that the victim is entitled to damages for economic and noneconomic losses.

This type of action typically is a forerunner to a lawsuit.

Modesto City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood confirmed the claim was received at City Hall on Wednesday. "We are reviewing it and will proceed accordingly," she said, declining further comment.

Fresno attorney Jacob Rivas, who specializes in civil rights cases, filed the claim against former officer Lee Freddie Gaines II, the Police Department and the city. He said he is seeking multimillion dollars in damages because of the severity of the claimed offense against his client.

"As you can imagine, when you have a sexual assault, it takes a heavy toll on the victim emotionally and physically," Rivas said.

City officials have 45 days to decide whether to accept or reject the claim. If it's rejected, Rivas said he expects to bring a lawsuit on behalf of his client, most likely in federal court.

Modesto Bee, 4/2/12; Claim for Damages.

Fresno Releases Long-Awaited Auditor's Report Of Police Shootings

Fresno's Police Chief goes on the defense, after city officials release the much-anticipated independent police auditor report. The report comes after months of pressure, including a federal judge's request to release it.

It could be used during his case, involving the Fresno Police Department and the family of Steven Vargas, who was shot and killed by an officer two years ago.

Fresno Bee, 12/11/11

EDCA Court Orders Auditor to Provide Court With Unredacted Report

Yesterday's Fresno Bee noted that Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer was scheduled to testify in the federal wrongful death trial over the shooting death by a Fresno police officer.

Today's Fresno Bee reported that Judge Ishii has ordered that he be provided a copy of the auditor's unredacted report:

A federal judge presiding over a wrongful-death trial ruled today that he wants former Fresno police auditor Eddie Aubrey to send him a clean copy of Aubrey's long-delayed report so he can see its original wording before it was edited by city officials.

Attorneys for the family of a man shot by Fresno police Sgt. Mike Palomino have been seeking the report with the hope it could shed more light on their claim that this incident is part of a pattern of unjustified shootings by the department.

Ishii appeared to be leaning toward letting attorneys review the report, but to date, he has only seen a report that has editing marks on it from City Manager Mark Scott.

Aubrey, the former auditor, finished the report more than six months ago, but Scott has declined to release it.

Former Sutter County Jail Inmate Files Suit Over Jail Gang Beating

A former Sutter County Jail inmate has filed an $8.5 million lawsuit in federal court, alleging he was placed in the wrong cell, where he was beaten by suspected gang members.

Sutter County Sheriff J. Paul Parker on Friday acknowledged the beating happened and said it was "our error." He said he had not yet seen the complaint.

Jose Fernando Pedraza, 32, a Yuba City resident who was serving a 40-day sentence for inflicting corporal injury to his spouse, filed the suit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. He could not be reached Friday for comment.

Pedraza was housed in a 62-man dormitory, but a guard mistakenly put him in an eight-man "tank" where he was punched and probably kicked, said Parker.

In the complaint, Pedraza wrote the beating happened about 11:15 a.m. Sept. 1 after he met with his public defender in the jail. He was scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. in Sutter County Superior Court, he wrote.

The guard walked him down a hallway and ordered him into an area known as "Max 3," which isolates gang members from the general jail population, Pedraza wrote.

"I asked him if this was the holding cell for inmates going to court. He replied, 'I can't disclose any information, get in there,'" wrote Pedraza, who filed the complaint without an attorney.

Seconds later inside, inmates asked him if he belonged to their gang. When he said he was not affiliated with any gang, they attacked him, Pedraza wrote.

"I was punched and kicked in the back of the head and back repeatedly, until guards returned to the cell and let me out. I was upset and asked (a different guard) why I was placed in that cell. I told him I had gotten beat up, and he replied, '(You're) about to get beat up again if you don't calm down,'" Pedraza wrote.

AppealDemocrat, 10/8/10

Mother Sues Stockton Police Over Shooting Death of 16-Year Old Son

The mother of James Rivera, the 16-year-old shot and killed by law enforcement officers after a July pursuit, is suing the city of Stockton, San Joaquin County and the three officers involved, asking for more than $10 million in damages.

Oakland civil rights lawyer John Burris filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on behalf of Rivera's mother, Dion Smith, claiming police wrongfully killed the teen.

Rivera's family is asking for an additional $1.5 million judgment against the three officers who fatally shot the teen a day before his birthday.

"I feel what they done was wrong," Smith told reporters Wednesday, gathered with relatives down the block from the north Stockton scene where her son was shot. "My son didn't have a chance to be 17. ... They murdered my son. They assassinated my son."

Stockton officers have called Rivera a violent criminal and defend their actions.

The incident is being investigated by a multiagency team lead by the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office. Stockton police Officer Pete Smith, a department spokesman, said the probe is almost complete.

Stockton Record.net, 9/16/10.  Download Complaint, Smith v. Stockton, No. 10-CV-2495-MCE 

Second Suit Accuses El Dorado County Sheriff's Office of Sexual Harrassment

"The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office is the target of a lawsuit – the second in two months – claiming that a "boy's club" in the department subjects women to harassment and discrimination.

In the latest suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court, three civilian employees of the department allege violations of California fair employment and federal civil rights laws.

* * *

Nicole Sahaj-Myers, Stacie Walls and Jona Scher are currently community service officers with between seven to 24 years in the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.

Sahaj-Myers and Walls allege, among other things, that they were punitively assigned to clean out the men's locker room at the Sheriff's Office, along with male inmates from the jail.  The standard practice, the suit says, is for janitors to clean the facility.

Scher said she was the target of offensive comments from male superiors in the department and was subject to rumors that she was having affairs with some of them.

Her attempts to have the rumors quashed were ignored by superiors, according to the suit.

One of the sheriff's officers named is Capt. Craig Therkildsen, a candidate in November's runoff election for sheriff.

Sacramento Bee, 7/28/10