El Centro official responds to suit against city cop
EL CENTRO — Allegations in a federal lawsuit that an El Centro Police officer used excessive force during an arrest at his previous job may not have prevented him from being hired, a senior city official said Wednesday.
The suit against Grant Hasselbach claims he beat and choked a man suspected of driving under the influence when he was an officer in Huntington Beach in 2019, records show. He worked for that city from 2014 to August 2020 and was hired by El Centro in December 2020, according to information from both cities.
The suit did not come into play during Hasselbach’s hiring process because it was filed in January, after he was hired, said El Centro City Attorney Elizabeth Martyn. However, even had the incident been known, it may not have had an impact, she added.
“When I read it (the suit) it did not seem egregious,” Martyn explained. “It’s not dissimilar to those we’ve seen against our officers that were in fact baseless.”
Martyn contacted this newspaper to provide comment on behalf of El Centro Police Chief Brian P. Johnson, to whom the original request was made.
“I certainly know that Brian probably is experienced in this, too, that a lot of these cases may or may not have merit,” Martyn said. “There are people who do claim excessive force and believe they have a cause of action, and from the other side, they do not.”
Huntington Beach officials declined comment other than to provide Hasselbach’s dates of employment with the city.
They did not comment on when a claim was filed with the city, a step required before a municipality can be sued.
Hasselbach and the city of Huntington Beach are named as defendants in a suit filed on behalf of Michael Merz on Jan. 19, 2021, according to records from the U.S. District Court Central District of California.
The complaint seeks damages in the millions for allegations including violation of Fourth Amendment rights — excessive/unreasonable force; failure to properly train/hire/fire/discipline, and battery.
According to the suit, on or about Oct. 4, 2019, Hasselbach was on patrol and pulled Merz over for speeding and having tinted windows on his vehicle. After Merz complied with a request to exit his vehicle, the officer began an investigation into whether Merz was driving under the influence.
Hasselbach allegedly “twisted” Merz’s arm behind his back and then “slammed Merz face first on to the pavement. … Hasselbach then got on
top of Merz and applied a chokehold…”
Hasselbach also allegedly punched Merz in the head seven times, causing him to lose consciousness, even though he was not resisting, the suit states.
Merz bit Hasselbach’s arm in self-defense, the
suit adds.
Paramedics took Merz to the hospital and he was treated for injuries the suit does not specify.
Other details, such as the race and ethnicity of Hasselbach and Merz and whether there are audio or video recordings of the incident, are
not mentioned in the suit. Previous attempts to reach Merz’s attorney were unsuccessful.
The last activity in the case is a notice of assignment of a panel mediator on July 8 and notice of the withdrawal of an attorney for the defendants on July 16.