US immigration agent awarded $2.2 million
March 11 2010 by Liam Clifford
A jury in the US has found in favour of a US immigration and customs agent, in which he has been awarded $2.2 million in damages.
The case centred on an incident outside a Toys R Us in which the ICE agent was ‘man-handled’ by police officers while on an undercover surveillance operation in a suburb of San Diego.
The jury returned a verdict on Tuesday that Chula Vista law enforcement officers did in fact use above and beyond what would be termed as necessary force against Mr Lopez while he was carrying out his surveillance work in October 2006.
The US immigration agent said that officers stuck a stun gun to his chest while bending his arm so much he feared it would ‘snap’, confiscated his badge and pressed his head unnecessarily hard against the asphalt floor.
The incident began after Mr Lopez was brought to the attention of law enforcement after he used his sirens and ran a red light. The counter-claim by the five officers named in the lawsuit was that Lopez was verbally aggressive and uncooperative.
The police department of Chula Vista voiced their disappointment after the verdict and damages were delivered. A spokesman, Bernard Gonzales, said;
"We believe our officers and supervisors acted appropriately and within department policy under suspicious and dangerous circumstances."
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