When Abel Sanchez went to check on his brother- in-law, he was issued a ticket for interfering with a police officer. When he left police custody, he needed to go to a hospital, according to a civil rights complaint filed in federal court Monday.
The affidavit alleges Sanchez (pictured here in the hospital before his discharge) was shoved to the ground, punched, kicked, handcuffed, and then Maced in the back of a squad car by patrol officer Dennis O’Connell, before being taken to a warehouse and cleaned up by other cops.
Sanchez, an immigrant from Guatemala, said he made it to a hospital only because he flagged down a woman for help, and she took him to the security guard at the Winslow Celentano housing projects on Warren Street. People misunderstood him; thinking he was beaten up by thugs, they called the police.
“When I saw a police car I was terrified. I told her, ‘I don’t need police, because police beat me.’ I told her ‘I need hospital.’ So she quickly called the hospital.”
The police officer who arrived came into the Winslow Celentano building and asked what happened, according to Sanchez. He said he was attacked by a police officer, and Sanchez handed him his ticket.
“He looked at the paper, took out his cell phone and made a call. After the conversation, he shook his head and gave me [the ticket back],” the affidavit said.
Sanchez, a 28-year-old landscape worker, now owes $2,477.38 to Yale New Haven Health, $614.26 to AMR, and $220 to Yale Medical Group.
“Because we have an [internal] investigation taking place, it is our practice not to comment on these cases until an investigation is concluded,” mayoral spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said Monday afternoon.
City Hall has tried to build trust toward the police among immigrants through a policy preventing officers from inquiring about people’s immigration status.
Click here to read the complaint.
“Excuse Me…”
The incident occurred on Jan. 6. Sanchez’s brother-in-law came home and asked for help after he had been stopped in Fair Haven Heights. He said the police took away his car keys, but left the lights running. According to his affidavit, Sanchez left with his brother and his brother-in-law to go turn off the lights of the car. Sanchez and his brother waited in the car for their brother in-law to come back, until Sanchez got worried and went out to see if he was OK, according to the affidavit.
“When I got there, I said to him, ‘Excuse me, this is my brother-in-law.’ And he shouted ‘WHAT?’ And I was scared. So he said ‘You go out of here, now!’ I responded ‘Okay, I’m going now,’” according to the affidavit.
Paul Garlinghouse, Sanchez’s attorney, said Sanchez was about to leave before O’Connell allegedly took two steps toward him, grabbed his jacket, and shoved him to the ground.
“He picked me up and punched my face with his fists several times,” Sanchez stated in the affidavit. “He grabbed my arm and my leg and kicked me with his knee in the ribs. After that he threw me onto the ground. He kicked me on the left side of my face. I don’t remember what happened after that. I was crying and asking for help.”
Then he was handcuffed and pushed into a police car, Sanchez said.
“He left me on my stomach in the back seat of the car. The policeman got out and closed the door. Three or four minutes later, while I remained on my stomach, the police returned and sprayed me in both ears and then in both eyes. After that he left,” Sanchez said.
A police van arrived a half an hour later, according to the affidavit, and the officers there carried Sanchez into a van because he could not see. According to Garlinghouse, Sanchez was not taken to central booking at 1 Union Ave, but to a workshop nearby. There, one of the officers called Sanchez a “chicken,” according to the affidavit, offered him a beer, and put water and ice on his bloody, swollen face.
When O’Connell arrived at the shop on Union Avenue, he allegedly told Sanchez to sign a ticket for interfering with police before releasing him into the street without any further medical attention.
The case filed in federal court today is the second formal complaint against Officer Dennis O’Connell this year. The first is still awaiting a hearing by the Board of Police Commissioners, after delays brought on by the police union.
For a background story click here.
Sanchez pled guilty to a non-criminal infraction in February, and paid a $40 ticket. His lawyer promptly filed a complaint with Internal Values and Ethics. He said he filed the federal complaint because of IVE’s history of siding with the police.