by Maury Glover
ROSEVILLE, Minn.
He says he was wrestled to the
ground and had a Taser used against him during a routine traffic stop in
Roseville, and he's doing more than claiming the cops went too far -- he's
taking them to court.
The attorney representing
Victor Hernandez told Fox 9 News police used excessive force last year,
assaulting a young man and violating his civil rights even though he had done
nothing wrong.
Video footage shows police pull
over a car that was spotted speeding near Lexington Avenue and Highway 36 last
May. Once the car stops, the driver runs off and an officer chases after him. A
full minute and a half later, Hernandez starts to get out of the front
passenger seat -- but that's when the officer who chased the driver returned
and threw Hernandez to the ground.
The force of the takedown broke
the cell phone Hernandez had in his hand at the time, but his attorney said the
violence didn't stop there.
The officer used a Taser on
Hernandez, who does not speak English, a total of three times while yelling at
him. Within seconds, three other officers join in, punching and kicking the
25-year-old Mexican immigrant while he lay moaning on the ground.
"I don't think he understood
what the order was because of the language barrier," attorney Paul Edlund,
who is representing Hernandez, told Fox 9 News.
Hernandez's attorneys say
Roseville police not only used excessive force by assaulting Hernandez during
what they call a "false arrest," but they say officers also violated
his civil rights.
"Citizens have a right to
be free of unlawful, excessive force from the police department," Edlund
said. "Victor has that right, and that's clearly not what happened
here."
According to attorneys, the
dashcam video proves Hernandez did not resist or obstruct the legal process,
which is why prosecutors eventually dropped all charges against him.
"I think a lot of people
don't believe defendants because they are seen as criminals and I think people
tend to believe the police," Edlund said. "Without the video, it's
hard to prove a lot of times they've done what they've done."
While Edlund says the bruises
visible in Hernandez's mug shot have healed, the emotional scars remain open
and raw.
"Had the officers not
encountered someone who was not a young Hispanic male, they would have dealt
with the situation much differently than they did from the inception,"
Edlund contends.
Edlund also said he is
concerned by the way those officers behaved in front of a camera, and said the
ordeal is "a prime example of a case where the officer is making decisions
that don't reflect the reality that is unfolding before him."
"I think this message
needs to get hammered home to officers: This behavior isn't acceptable at
all," Edlund said.