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Man Says Officers Needlessly Hurt Him: Fresno Business Owner Was Detained, Released, but the Memory Haunts Him, He Says.

Posted on: Sunday, 14 May 2006, 18:01 CDT

By Pablo Lopez, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

May 14--Fresno police are investigating a business owner's complaint that he was humiliated when officers drew their guns, ordered him to his knees and handcuffed him in the street.

Frank Vasquez, owner of Fresno Machine and Manufacturing, said officers later released him and apologized, but he still is steamed.

"I didn't deserve this type of treatment," said Vasquez, 67. "They could have used some common sense."

About 11 p.m. April 9, police went to Vasquez's business on Van Ness Avenue south of Grizzlies Stadium. What started as a legitimate police call turned into a horrifying experience, Vasquez said.

A police report said officers went to Vasquez's shop after two motorists reported seeing a man with a gun robbing two women outside the business.

Police detained Vasquez, who fit the description of the alleged gunman, but released him once they determined that there was no crime. "It was found that the females were not robbed and no one pointed a gun at them," the report said.

Deputy Chief Robert A. Nevarez said police had probable cause to detain Vasquez for his safety and that of the witnesses and officers, and that police apologized to him once the incident was resolved.

Vasquez's excessive force complaint remains under investigation, Nevarez said.

Excessive force complaints are not unusual -- in 2005, Fresno police received 52 complaints, in which 30 of them were deemed justified because the officers did not violate department policy, Nevarez said.

Of the 52 complaints, only one was sustained, meaning the allegation turned out to be true. The remaining complaints were either deemed unfounded, or didn't happen; unsustained because of insufficient evidence; or remain under investigation.

The police report noted that Vasquez claimed he was battered and bruised, yet he refused medical treatment at the scene and wouldn't allow police to photograph his alleged injuries.

Vasquez, in response, said his physical injuries were not serious enough to see a doctor, but that his mental trauma is more serious -- he said he cries nearly every day and has trouble eating and sleeping. He said he is seeing a church counselor.

Vasquez's business office doubles as his home. He said he was sleeping the night of April 9 when the business doorbell rang, causing his dog, Hal, to become agitated. Vasquez said he put Hal on a leash and went to investigate. Outside, two female figures stood in the dark.

Vasquez turned on the shop lights and ordered the women to put their hands up and walk toward him.

As the women came toward the lights of the business, Vasquez realized it was his daughter, Laurie Frank, and her friend.

Police arrived shortly after and detained Vasquez while they investigated whether a robbery occurred.

The police report released to The Bee does not detail Vasquez's interaction with police. According to Vasquez's account:

Once police arrived, Vasquez asked officers several times, "What's this about?" But the officer gave no response.

About 10 officers had their guns pointed toward him as he stood in the glare of the patrol cars' spotlights. A police helicopter hovered overhead.

Vasquez said police ordered him to tie Hal to a lamppost, walk into the street, get on his knees and put his hands behind his back. Vasquez said he complied with the officers' demands, but also told them several times his name and that he owned the business. Because of a sore knee he was slow to get to his knees, so an officer pushed him face first to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" he recalled yelling, as an officer handcuffed him. But he said the officers gave no response while marching Vasquez to the backseat of a patrol car.

Vasquez said he complained about the handcuffs being too tight, but officers ignored him. When officers asked him whether he had any weapons, Vasquez said he told police where to find two loaded handguns in his office. The police report confirms officers found two handguns.

Eddie Farrington, 27, an employee who lives in a trailer next to the business, also was detained, handcuffed to an automatic metal gate. If the gate had opened, it would have crushed Farrington, Vasquez said.

Farrington said he saw officers point guns at Vasquez and order him to his knees, then face-down on the ground before he was handcuffed. He didn't see him taken to the patrol car.

About 20 minutes later, Vasquez said, an officer ordered him out of the patrol car, but his boots got stuck in the small confines of the back seat.

"Come on, come on," the officer said, according to Vasquez. But Vasquez said he couldn't untangle his feet and, still wearing the handcuffs, he fell out of the patrol car, hitting the pavement with his head, left shoulder, hip and ribs.

Vasquez said he expected the officer to help him, but the officer just grinned and said, "Are you going to get up or not?"

Vasquez said once he got off the ground, the officer took off the handcuffs. Police also released Farrington from his handcuffs.

The police report said both men signed forms that said they were detained, not arrested.

Vasquez said a sergeant defended the officers' actions, saying, "It's procedure for officer safety."

Vasquez recalled telling the sergeant: "You'd better re-think your procedure."

The reporter can be reached at plopez@fresnobee.com or(559) 441-6434.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Fresno Bee

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