Attorneys for a 38-year-old man who was repeatedly beaten with a baton by a San Bernardino police officer have filed a lawsuit against the city, seeking more than $5 million in damages, citing assault, negligence and malicious prosecution.
A lawsuit is a necessary prerequisite for a lawsuit.
Warning: The video shows violence and contains swear words and curses.
In a press release, attorneys Dale K. Galipo, Sharon J. Brunner and James S. Terrell said Billy Lee Hill suffered two broken legs and emotional trauma.
Police Chief Darren Goodman said in a written statement that the department is investigating the conduct of three officers in their attempt to arrest Hill on June 6.
In a video posted to YouTube that also includes body-worn camera footage, police said officers were called to 133 E. 40th St. around 8 p.m. after a 911 caller reported a man crashed a motorcycle he said didn’t belong to him. They encountered Hill, an employee at the nearby Kwik Stop Dairy.
He appeared to match the description of a man wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, Sergeant Christopher Gray said in the video.
According to police, Hill made comments about a motorcycle, raising suspicions that he was involved in the incident.
But Hill’s lawyers claim that officers were pursuing the wrong suspect – Hill was not on the motorcycle.
Goodman said in an interview Friday, August 23, that he did not yet know whether officers had arrested the right person. Goodman also said the investigation had not revealed any new information since his August 14 testimony.
Warning: Video shows violence
Police video shows officers ordering Hill to put his hands above his head and then behind his back. He does neither and instead repeatedly asks why officers want to arrest him and handcuff him. Gray said in the video that Hill tensed his arms, making it difficult to put the handcuffs on.
“I’m not doing anything,” says Hill.
An officer uses a stun gun on Hill, who responds by kicking the officer. Gray says a still from the video shows Hill reaching for the weapon.
A colleague in the supermarket also filmed the argument.
The footage shows a police officer swinging his baton like a baseball bat, putting the gun behind his head and then striking Hill’s legs.
The colleague shouts at the officers during the arrest and at one point uses a homophobic insult to describe the officer with the baton.
“He’s not resisting. … Hey, this guy needs to be fired. … You’re going to lose your job, punk. Rodney King! Rodney King! Rodney King! … Another San Bernardino cop loses his mind.”
Eventually the officers handcuff Hill and throw him to the ground.
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A bystander photo shows San Bernardino police officers attempting to handcuff Billy Hill on June 6, 2024. Hill’s lawyers have filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city, accusing him of assault and other crimes. Hill was charged with resisting arrest. (Courtesy of Dale K. Galipo)
“All of these strikes were unnecessary, excessive and without justifiable cause,” Hill’s attorneys said. “As seen on the video, the SBPD officer used both hands and his full force as he struck Mr. Hill 16 times, with motions similar to swinging a baseball bat or hitting a piñata.”
“The officer intended to cause serious bodily injury and harm to Mr Hill when he struck him with the police baton,” they said. “The other two officers … did not intervene.”
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office has charged Hill with two felonies: resisting arrest and discharging a weapon from a police officer. He is scheduled to go to trial on August 29. He is also facing a charge of resisting arrest, a charge stemming from an incident in May.
“As Chief of Police, I want to assure the public that we take incidents involving the use of force extremely seriously. The actions depicted in the video will be thoroughly investigated,” Goodman wrote.
The claim was filed on Tuesday, August 20.
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