San Bernardino man claims excessive use of force by police; files claim against city
A San Bernardino police officer was captured on video using a baton to repeatedly hit a man during an arrest.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- A man who was struck more than a dozen times by a San Bernardino police officer with a baton has filed a claim against the city, alleging excessive use of force by the officer.
"I had four fractures in my left leg, and one fracture in my right leg," said Billy Hill at a news conference he attended with his attorneys. "It's the worst pain. I mean, on a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 20."
The incident happened on June 6 near the Kwik Stop Dairy on E. 40th Street in San Bernardino, where Hill was employed.
San Bernardino police officers were investigating a report of someone who'd crashed a motorcycle and was attempting to hide it. According to audio from the 911 call, the caller reported the suspect was a white male, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. Police said Hill matched the description of the suspect and police attempted to detain him.
READ MORE | San Bernardino police officer repeatedly strikes man with baton during arrest
"The officers first tried to simply place his hands behind his back in order to complete a basic handcuffing procedure," said Sgt. Chris Gray on a video posted on social media by the San Bernardino Police Department showing body camera footage.
"He resisted, by tensing up his arms, which prevented officers from being successful."
Gray said an officer attempted to use a Taser on the suspect but was unsuccessful. Gray said that after the suspect attempted to grab the Taser from the officer, an officer used the baton on the suspect to try to gain compliance.
"There was a much more civil, humane and appropriate way to handle this situation," said attorney Sharon Brunner. "Even, at best, if there was some resisting, it was passive. It was not active, not violent, and not intended to hurt anyone."
Eyewitness News showed the videos to Dr. Tommy Tunson, a retired police chief from the Bakersfield area.
"He wasn't complying, and the officers did try to talk him down and keep him from reacting that way," said Tunson. "But it didn't seem to work, so the escalation of force increased."
"I was around during Rodney King, and I remember seeing that firsthand on TV," he added. "This was not the same type of situation."
