Man alleges Concord police assaulted him as he took shelter in vacant building
A man who says he was violently assaulted by Concord police officers while taking shelter in an abandoned building is suing the city and the officers, according to court documents filed in federal court.
John Donohue filed the lawsuit through his attorney, Jason Balogh, on Dec. 28 in U.S. Court in the Northern District of California seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the police for using “excessive and unreasonable force” against him.
A Concord Police Department spokesman declined to comment, referring questions to police Chief Guy. Swanger did not respond.
Donohue was sleeping in an abandoned building on Monument Boulevard in Concord on New Years Eve 2018 when he woke up to the sound of someone yelling “Concord police” and felt a pull on his arm, according to the lawsuit.
One of the three officers present punched him multiple times until he fell to the floor unconscious, the lawsuit alleges. He woke up to more punches and kicks in the head before a K-9 dog bit his leg multiple times, according to court documents. Medics arrived, and Donohue heard one officer tell the medics that he had his gun out and the safety off.
The same officer allegedly told the medics, “we beat the shit out of that guy,” according to the lawsuit.
As a result of the beating by the officers, Donohue suffered injuries including a skull fracture, a subdural hematoma, epidural hematoma, multiple fractures to his face and nose, “severe” cuts and bruising, a concussion and a large leg wound from the dog bites.
The lawsuit names only one of the officers present, Daniel Walker, but does not say whether Walker participated in the assault. It does not identify the other two officers.
In addition to physical injury, the lawsuit says Donohue suffered emotional distress and trauma, lost income and had to pay medical expenses because of the alleged battery by police.
The lawsuit — filed against Walker, other unnamed officers, Swanger, and the city — asks for general, special and punitive damages, as well as the cost of the lawsuit and attorneys’ fees, and demands a jury trial.
WASHINGTON