Current:Home > ContactWoman shocked with Taser while on ground is suing police officer and chief for not reporting it -Zenith Profit Hub
Woman shocked with Taser while on ground is suing police officer and chief for not reporting it
View
Date:2025-04-26 12:26:43
DENVER (AP) — A woman who was shocked in the back with a Taser while lying on the ground in Pueblo, Colorado, last year is suing the police officer who stunned her and the city’s police chief, accusing the police department of failing to report excessive force by the officer to state regulators.
The federal lawsuit filed Sunday by Cristy Gonzales, who was suspected of stealing a vehicle, says the police department found Cpl. Bennie Villanueva used excessive force against Gonzales and another person several weeks later. However, it says the agency withheld the information from a state board which oversees who is qualified to serve in law enforcement. If it had been reported, Villanueva would have lost his certification to work as a police officer for at least a year, the lawsuit said.
Gonzales was suspected of stealing a truck in February 2022, and didn’t stop for Villanueva, according to a police investigation. Eventually the vehicle ran out of gas, according to the lawsuit.
After she got out of the truck, Villanueva pulled up and ordered her to get onto the ground, according to body camera footage released by Gonzales’ lawyer. After another officer grabbed one of her arms, she got down on her knees and then appeared to be pushed to the ground, when Villanueva deployed his Taser into her back.
According to the lawsuit, Gonzales was hit with two probes in the small of her back near her spine. It says she continues to have numbness and difficulty using her right hand since the Taser was used on her.
Telephone messages left for Pueblo police Chief Chris Noeller and the city’s police union were not immediately returned Monday. Villanueva could not immediately be located for comment.
After seeing the video of Gonzales’ arrest, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the vehicle theft filed an excessive force complaint, prompting an internal police investigation, according to the lawsuit. After the investigation, Noeller issued a letter of reprimand against Villanueva for his conduct in the Gonzales case as well as for violating department policies in two other cases.
In the letter, provided by Gonzales’ lawyer, Kevin Mehr, Noeller said Villanueva appeared to use the Taser on Gonzales “for no apparent reason.” However, he also said that the use of the Taser appeared to be “a result of your reaction to a highly stressful call for service after having been away from patrol duty work for several years.”
In a second case, Noeller said Villanueva deployed his Taser on a suspect a second time apparently accidentally while attempting to issue a “warning arc” to get the suspect to comply. In a third case cited in the letter, Villanueva threatened to use a Taser on a suspect in custody who was not cooperating with medical personnel but he did not end up deploying it.
Each year, police departments are required to report to Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training board whether their officers have had any “disqualifying incidents”, including a finding of excessive force, that would disqualify them from being certified to work as police officers in the state, according to the lawsuit. It claims the Pueblo Police Department did not report any such incidents for any of its officers in 2022.
“The Pueblo Police Department lied to the POST board, just plain and simple,” Mehr said.
veryGood! (94177)
Related
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Low-income countries want more money for climate damage. They're unlikely to get it.
- Love Is Blind Production Company Responds to Contestants' Allegations of Neglect
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $330 Backpack for Just $83
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Here's what happened today at the U.N.'s COP27 climate negotiations
- The Hope For Slowing Amazon Deforestation
- Taylor Swift Just Subtly Shared How She's Doing After Joe Alwyn Breakup
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- The carbon coin: A novel idea
Ranking
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Impact investing, part 1: Money, meet morals
- Here's how far behind the world is on reining in climate change
- Climate change makes storms like Ian more common
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin Reveals Official Cause of His Collapse While Announcing NFL Return
- Italian rescuers search for missing in island landslide, with one confirmed dead
- Kylie Jenner Is Dating Timothée Chalamet After Travis Scott Breakup
Recommendation
Trump's 'stop
Why Olivia Culpo Joked She Was Annoyed Ahead of Surprise Proposal From Christian McCaffrey
Here's Why Love Is Blind's Paul and Micah Broke Up Again After Filming
Love Is Blind Production Company Responds to Contestants' Allegations of Neglect
San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
Don't Call It Dirt: The Science Of Soil
Climate change is making the weather more severe. Why don't most forecasts mention it?
Yung Miami Confirms Breakup With Sean Diddy Combs