Family of girl, 16, knocked down during arrest, files $10M suit
The family of a 16-year-old girl who was videotaped being knocked down and having her throat grabbed by a Rialto police officer during a February arrest has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking $10 million in damages.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court alleged, among other complaints, excessive force, conspiracy, battery and negligence.
Named as defendants were the two officers involved in the incident — identified in the suit as Officer Ivan Delgadillo and Officer Zamora (no first name was included) — along with Rialto Police Chief Mark Kling, the city of Rialto, San Bernardino County and 10 people whose identities were not yet known to the family.
The suit stems from the Feb. 11 arrest of the teen, whose name has not been publicly released. She was stopped on suspicion of riding a motorized bike that was not street legal and driving too fast on a residential street at the corner of South Linden Avenue and Pinedale Avenue.
Kling said the girl could not prove her identity and the officers were unable to release her with a citation to appear in court.
Four days after the incident, Kling issued an apology to the girl's family for the incident and asked the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office to investigate the actions of the officer who placed his hand on the girl's throat, identified in the suit as Delgadillo.
The officer in question also was being investigated by the department's internal affairs and then was placed on paid administrative leave, Kling said in February.
It wasn't immediately clear what Zamora's status was.
Thursday, Caree Harper, the family's attorney, called for Delgadillo's firing and the full officer-worn body camera footage to be released to the public.
“(The Police Department is) covering (the footage) up because they know how egregious it is,” Harper said. “Everyone should agree that a throat strike to somebody who is helpless is totally unacceptable.”
On Thursday, the Police Department declined comment, citing the pending litigation. The department did not have any plans to release the body-worn footage as of Thursday, said Cpl. Nicholas Parcher.
The suit alleged that when the girl was stopped by Delgadillo and Zamora, she was accused of going 40 mph and asked to remove her helmet. After she didn't identify herself, the officers placed the girl in handcuffs and threatened to use a stun gun because struggle ensued, it said.
The girl was then thrown on
the ground and Delgadillo placed his knee on her chest as he accused the girl of trying to bite him, the lawsuit said. Delgadillo then alleged the girl tried to bite him again and then struck her in the throat “sucker punch style,” according to the suit. It said the throat strike would only be visible from the officer’s body-worn camera footage, not what bystanders taped.
As a result of the incident, the girl underwent “severe pain and suffering” as well as “extreme and severe mental anguish,” the suit said.
The girl was held in custody at a juvenile detention facility for four days before being released, the lawsuit said. The status of any case against her was not available Thursday.
Rialto city officials could not immediately be reached for comment. A San Bernardino County spokesman had no immediate comment Thursday.