Vallejo cops’ use of force criticized
A video posted on Facebook that shows a Vallejo police officer repeatedly hitting a man who’s being restrained by another officer outside a restaurant is drawing hundreds of thousands of views and a flood of criticism of police.
The video, slightly longer than a minute and shot from inside a Mod Pizza restaurant on Plaza Drive in Vallejo on Friday night, shows a man face down on a sidewalk with one police officer straddling him near the waist, and apparently trying to handcuff him. Another officer, wielding what appears to be a baton or flashlight, strikes him about nine times in the back and shoulder areas. A third officer restrains the man’s legs.
The video does not record what led to the man being subdued by officers.
Spatters of blood are evident on the sidewalk near the man’s head, and he can be
heard crying out repeatedly in pain as he’s struck.
“Hey, don’t beat him,” someone inside the restaurant can be heard yelling. “Why are you beating him?”
Several hundred have commented on the video, with most criticizing the use of force but some defending the action.
Vallejo police issued a statement Sunday saying the use of force captured in the video “appears appropriate for these circumstances.”
Capt. Lee Horton said the suspect would not remove his left hand from beneath his body as police tried to handcuff him so another officer struck him multiple times in the back and left arm with a flashlight.
“This was effective as the suspect then released his hand and officers placed him in handcuffs,” Horton said.
The incident occurred after police received a call about 9 p.m. from a 14-year-old girl who said she was being held in a man’s car and he would not take her home, Horton said. When police responded, the man ran and officers gave chase, Horton added.
Horton said the man stumbled on the sidewalk in front of Mod Pizza and hit his head on the front door as an officer attempted to grab him. Police then began trying to handcuff him.
Dietrich Krous, a 21-year-old Vallejo resident who posted the video, wrote in his Facebook post of the video: “Right before this happened he was tackled into the 2-3 inch thick door head first and it broke, keep that in mind.”
The suspect, Angel Bagos, 22, was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. No charges have been filed, Horton said, and the investigation is continuing.
The girl was returned to her family.
Horton said in his statement that the use of force also would be investigated, including a review of video captured by officers’ body cameras as well as cellphone video.
Krous, in an interview Sunday, said he posted the video on Facebook “because the public needs to know what is going on in their community.” He said he did not intend to demonize the police but thought the incident “could’ve been handled better.”
He said the video points out the need for “training to not be so emotionally compromised and to also be less abusive as that is not part of their job.”
Vallejo police have been criticized before for use of force on suspects. In March 2017, a video showed a police officer tackling and beating an unarmed man on the median strip of a road and aiming his gun at onlookers. Videos of that incident also went viral. The officer remained on patrol duty as officials investigated the use of force.