City
of Santa Fe settled civil suit for $32K
SANTA
FE, N.M. —The former Santa Fe police officer accused of using excessive force
on a cab driver was also at the center of a civil lawsuit less than a year ago.
On
March 30, Jose Gutierrez pulled over taxi cab driver Dawn Burgeois for a
traffic violation. Dash camera video from his patrol car showed Gutierrez
wrestling Burgeois to the ground after she got out of her car, ignoring his
orders to stay inside.
Soon
after, she and her attorney filed a claim of excessive force.
Gutierrez
resigned from Santa Fe police, but no reason was given.
This
isn't the first time Gutierrez has been accused of breaching his duty. Last
July, he pulled over Martin Pacheco for a license plate violation and failure
to stop.
But
Pacheco's attorney said in a claim notice to the city in 2013, Gutierrez's dash
cam video showed Pacheco did stop.
Gutierrez
told other officers he smelled alcohol on Pacheco's breath.
"When
I asked how much he had to drink, (Pacheco) first told me he had Listerine, and
then subsequently he said he actually had two Modelos," he said.
Pacheco
was arrested and charged with DWI.
According
to documents obtained by Action 7 News, Pacheco's attorney said his client is
disabled and unable to perform filed sobriety tests. He claimed he was falsely
imprisoned, falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted.
That
claim was dropped when the city settled for $32,500.
Pacheco's
DWI case and charges associated with it were dism