Texas police used pepper spray on a person, arrested him and denied him medical consideration after he filmed his son’s arrest over a site visitors violation in August.
On 15 August, a site visitors cease for a large proper was an incident that resulted in Marco Puente, an emergency electrician, sitting handcuffed at the back of a cruiser with abrasive chemical substances in his eyes.
The officers demanded Dillon Puente step out of the automotive and put his palms on the car, and requested “why he was performing so suspicious.”
On the identical time, Mr Puente — who was driving his work truck — seen his son had been pulled over, so he known as out to ask if he was alright.
Dillion Puente yells again that he had rolled up his window on the officer. Mr Puente then started filming the arrest, which additional enraged the officers.
“You’re about to be arrested for blocking the roadway when you don’t park and get out,” the officer, Sgt. Blake Shimanek yells to Mr Puente. “You’re interfering with my job.”
Mr Puente was parked subsequent to a curb on the far facet of the road.
Following the officer’s directions, Mr Puente parks the truck after which exits his automotive and walks alongside the sidewalk filming the encounter.
Mr Shimanek could be heard telling Dillion Puente it was suspicious that he was driving round along with his window open – in Texas in August – however selected to roll it up as soon as he’d been pulled over.
At the moment, one other officer, Antik Tomer, arrives on the scene and exits his car. Mr Shimanek instructs him to “watch him,” referring to Mr Puente.
The daddy asks “watch me what, stand right here?”
Mr Shimanek then escalates the scenario by calling for Mr Tomer to arrest Mr Puente.
“Higher but, arrest him,” he says.
Mr Puente asks why he is being arrested, and Mr Shimanek replied “for blocking the roadway.”
Mr Tomer grabs Mr Puente and tells him to drop his cellphone. Mr Puente continues recording, which Mr Shimanek responds to by placing Mr Puente in a headlock and knocking his cellphone out of his hand.
The officers then push Mr Puente to the bottom and level a can of pepper spray at him, inches from his face. Mr Puente protests, yelling out that he didn’t do something.
“Dude, oh my god, what are you doing?” he says. “What the heck?”
Mr Shimanek then tells Mr Tomer to spray Mr Puente, which he does. The officer even removes Mr Puente’s sun shades and sprays him straight in his eyes.
Sooner or later Mr Puente’s grandfather-in-law exits his home and begins yelling on the officers and begins recording as properly. Mr Shimanek tells him to again off, which the person refuses to do.
Mr Puente says his “eyes are on fireplace” earlier than Mr Shimanek pulls him to his toes and shoves him right into a police automotive. Mr Puente asks for a towel, which he’s denied. Over the following quarter-hour, Mr Puente asks repeatedly for a towel, however is ignored.
Within the video, Mr Shimanek complains concerning the pepper spray burning his arms and wipes it down with a towel, however tells Mr Tomer to not give a towel to Mr Puente.
Mr Puente was informed he can be given medical consideration on the jail by EMTs, however the officers informed the EMTs to go to the scene after they’d already pushed away with Mr Puente.
As soon as they attain the station, the officers sit for an additional seven minutes within the automotive chatting whereas Mr Puente nonetheless has pepper spray in his eyes and throughout his face.
Ultimately Mr Puente receives medical consideration from jail attendants – not medical workers – who spray water in his eyes. He sat in a cell from 3pm to 9pm.
“I’m interested by what the heck went flawed,” Mr Puente mentioned. “I hold going again to that I did nothing unlawful. Is it as a result of this officer didn’t like what I used to be doing? Is it as a result of he has extra energy than me?”
Mr Puente, who’s Hispanic, additionally puzzled why the officers didn’t lash out at his grandfather-in-law with the identical ferocity as they did him. He famous that his grandfather-in-law is white.
“So is that the explanation they didn’t pursue him?” he mentioned. “Did they get me as a result of I’m a brown man in a pleasant neighborhood? It form of appears that means.”
The Keller Police Chief apologised for the officer’s actions, and demoted Mr Shimanek from sergeant to officer.
Mr Puente has filed a lawsuit towards the division. His lawyer, James Roberts, mentioned the officers’ choices have been baffling.
“I might ask ‘why?’ to principally each alternative they made,” he mentioned.
Scott Palmer, one other one in every of Mr Puente’s attorneys, mentioned the officer needlessly escalated the scenario.
“This officer actually took nothing and made it into one thing,” he mentioned. “He actually created havoc.”