An Española man threatened to sue the City of Española, Sept. 17, after Sgt. Eric Gallant allegedly broke his right arm while arresting him Aug. 1.
Attorney Sheri Raphaelson wrote in the tort claim that Jason Martinez, 38, was sitting in his parked car in the Wal-Mart parking lot, near Wendy’s.
“Deputy Chief Eric Gallant approached him and ordered him to get out of the vehicle,” she wrote. “It is unclear whether Deputy Chief Gallant has (sic) a lawful reason to stop Mr. Martinez.”
Gallant, a sergeant, was the interim deputy chief at the time of the arrest. Also involved, although not named in the tort claim, was former chief Matthew Vigil.
“Mr. Martinez complied and almost immediately Deputy Chief Gallant grabbed his right arm, twisted it, and broke it,” Raphaelson wrote. “Mr. Martinez felt and heard the break immediately and cried out that his arm was broken.”
Gallant allegedly pushed Martinez’s face into the vehicle, then used his grip on the broken arm to force Martinez to the ground.
“Deputy Chief Gallant ordered Mr. Martinez to place his arms to the side,” Raphaelson wrote. “Mr. Martinez was obviously unable to move his right arm since Deputy Chief Gallant had just broken it.”
She alleged that Gallant realized soon thereafter that he broke the man’s arm and called for an ambulance.
“Mr. Martinez was transported to the hospital and diagnosed as having a spiral fracture on his right arm,” she wrote. “Mr. Martinez suffered personal and bodily injury, and emotional injury as a result of this incident. There is a likelihood that litigation will ensue as a result of these acts.”
Raphaelson did not return a telephone call requesting comment.
City Manager Mark Trujillo said that the tort claim was a personnel issue so he could not comment.
Police Chief Raymond Romero and Gallant said they could not comment on pending litigation.
Officer’s view
Gallant wrote, in a statement of probable cause for Martinez’s arrest, that he was driving around the Wal-Mart parking lot with Vigil when he noticed trash at the traffic island between the Giant gas station and Taco Bell, then saw two men sitting under the trees at the edge of the parking lot.
“I told Chief Vigil that I thought both male subjects were trespassed from ‘Wal-Mart’ property and that I saw one of the subjects earlier sitting on the island by ‘Giant Gas Station,’ where the trash was, and I knew both were trespassed from that area,” he wrote.
Gallant and Vigil then sifted through the trash in the median before driving over to the two men.
“As we proceeded back to their location, we observed a gold in color Chevrolet Cavalier quickly drive up to their location and we observed the two male subjects exit the vehicle and walk up to one male that remained there,” he wrote.
He then witnessed what he alleged was a drug transaction.
“As we drove up, both males looked up quickly and walked away, as one of the males bent over to pick up a stuffed animal on the ground,” Gallant wrote. “Chief Vigil turned on the emergency lights and parked directly behind the gold Cavalier.”
Martinez allegedly ignored the commands and walked over to the car and got in the front passenger side.
“I also yelled for both of them to stop and not get in the vehicle,” he wrote. “I continued to talk toward Mr. Martinez where I made contact with him sitting on the seat and leaning forward as if he were hiding or retrieving something.”
Gallant alleged that he told Martinez to show him his hands, but Martinez refused.
“Mr. Martinez continued to try and put his hands in his pockets, which made me uncomfortable and unsafe due to his actions,” Gallant wrote. “I placed his left arm behind his back in a bent arm bar since he was not complying with my verbal commands.”
He alleged that Martinez “became physically resistive” and tried to pull his arm away, in addition to “tensing his arm up.”
“Mr. Martinez then said he had a hurt arm and that is when I transitioned the hold to his right arm placing it in a bent arm bar in order to control him from continually putting his hands in his pockets,” Gallant wrote.
Raphaelson wrote that Gallant broke Martinez’s right arm.
Gallant wrote that Martinez continued to resist him while the driver, Johnny Herrera, 21, appeared to be trying to get something from under his seat. He drew his weapon with one hand and told Herrera to get out of the car and Vigil handcuffed him.
Martinez allegedly continued to tense up his arm so Gallant did a “front trip, utilizing a bent arm bar, taking him down to the ground.”
He then had to remove Martinez’s left arm from his pants pocket in order to handcuff him, Gallant wrote.
“Mr. Martinez was later transported to the Espanola E.R. (sic) for his injury, and later transported to Espanola (sic) Detention Center where he was booked and charged accordingly,” he wrote.
Gallant charged him with resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance: Suboxone, misdemeanors and possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, a petty misdemeanor.
Martinez was also arrested on two Española municipal warrants and an Adult Probation and Parole arrest order.
A non-jury trial is set for 9 a.m., Thursday (10/26) in Española.
Vigil arrested Herrera on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia but that was dismissed with prejudice on Oct. 12 for lack of prosecution.