Cops’ video shows other viewpoint of incident
The cell- phone video showed a shocking turn of events: A Fairfield woman whose 8- year- old son had just been kidnapped screamed, “I can’t breathe!” as she was handcuffed and arrested outside her home by police officers who responded to her 911 call.
Facing criticism, police officials responded by immediately releasing their own set of videos — from officers’ body cameras — showing that the mother, Suzanne Guzman, repeatedly refused to let the officers into her house while swearing at them, even when they explained they needed to make sure the boy wasn’t inside.
“I don’t want you in my house!” she forcefully told an officer.
The videos are at the heart of a dispute that ignited after the boy, Brock Guzman, was kidnapped by a thief who jumped into the family’s car as it was being warmed up Monday morning. The crook ditched the vehicle, even as the boy continued to sleep in the back seat, and as authorities put out an Amber Alert, prompting a massive search.
A bystander discovered the vehicle about 3 ½ hours later with Brock safe
inside, and police released his parents, both of whom had been arrested and taken to police headquarters to be interviewed. No one has been charged with the kidnapping.
Around the country, many police watchdogs see body cameras as a way to fight police brutality. But the Fairfield case was the latest in which Bay Area police released video in a bid to counter accusations. Last year, Oakland police released video rebutting claims that a white officer had racially profiled a black firefighter by briefly suspecting him of burglarizing a fire station.
Critics say police are going public with videos from body cameras only when they are served by the disclosure.
“That’s a problem, the selective releasing of video,” said Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris. “It raises the question as to whether the video is released when it helps the police and not released when there’s some question about the conduct.”
But San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the Fairfield officers were justified in releasing the video after the couple alleged mistreatment. Even so, Adachi said such a release raises privacy concerns.
Fairfield police Lt. Rob Lenke said the family’s cell- phone video “shows a very limited scope of what occurred. We decided it was important for people, if they’re going to evaluate it, to evaluate the entire thing.”
Paul and Suzanne Guzman said Wednesday they weren’t upset that police released the videos — which they said showed officers need better training.
In an interview at their home, the two said police mishandled the tense situation, treating them like suspects even though they insisted that they knew Brock wasn’t inside the home.
“I wish they gave me a hug instead of handcuffs,” said Suzanne Guzman, who said she had suffered a panic attack and had feared her son was dead. She said she was embarrassed about her behavior in the video, but that officers should have been more understanding.
“It was the worst 3 hours of my life,” she said. “Not just what happened to my son — the cops made it 20 times worse.”
The incident began about 4: 45 a. m. Monday when Paul Guzman placed his son in the back of the family’s Toyota Corolla for a trip to Napa. As the father went back inside, Suzanne Guzman was on her way outside, and when she got there the Toyota was gone.
“Someone stole my car, and my son is inside of it!” a crying Guzman said in her 911 call. Her husband, meanwhile, drove through the neighborhood in his Ford Crown Victoria so feverishly that he blew a tire. When officers arrived at the home, an emotional Suzanne Guzman became increasingly agitated as officers asked to search the home.
“I’m not letting you come into the house, especially when my husband’s not here either, OK? It’s not f— happening!” she screamed.
Paul Guzman said his wife was concerned that one of their two “very protective” dogs, a German shepherd mix and a pit bull, would bite the officers, and she didn’t want the police to kill one of the animals.
At one point, an officer brought up past instances in which someone believed to be missing was actually dead inside a house.
“Well, if you think that that’s going on, then go get a f— warrant!” Suzanne Guzman yelled.
As officers approached the front door, they noticed a reddish substance on the carpet resembling blood, officials said. On one of the videos, Suzanne Guzman can be heard screaming that the substance is nail polish.
Police said officers cuffed Suzanne Guzman and loaded her into a police car after she refused to move away from the front door. Paul Guzman later returned and started capturing video of the scene on his cell phone. He said police eventually pulled a Taser on him and arrested him for no reason.
“Obviously, these officers need better training on how to deal with a mother that is hysterical about losing her kid,” he said.
Lenke said, “We totally understand the emotions involved in this, we totally understand the language and all that — that’s not the issue. Our first concern is Brock. We’ve got to account for every possible scenario.”