Palo Alto Police Sued For Excessive Force

PALO ALTO, CA -- A man has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Palo Alto Police Dept. alleging that officers beat him up during a 2018 arrest.

Palo Alto resident Gustavo Alvarez filed the suit April 30 in the San Jose division of U.S. District Court alleging that on Feb. 18, 2018, he was "unlawfully detained, beaten, assaulted, battered, injured, searched, threatened, denied medical care, and arrested" by Palo Alto Police.

The police department has so far declined to comment on the allegations while litigation is pending.

According to the lawsuit, which names the City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto Police Dept., the police department's chief and individual officers as defendants, Alvarez was approached by an officer at his mobile home on the above date and told by the officer that he'd been spotted driving on a suspended license.

Alvarez reportedly denied the allegation, which eventually led to his being forcefully arrested on scene by multiple officers at the mobile home park where he resides.

The plaintiff contends that he was violently beaten and verbally abused during the arrest, and that his home video surveillance system captured video of the incident. The video has yet to be released, however.

Although Alvarez was booked into jail on charges of driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license and resisting an officer, those charges were later dismissed by a Santa Clara County Judge due to lack of evidence.

The plaintiff is requesting a jury trial, but no date has been set..