An Española woman has filed what is at least the fourth lawsuit against former Española Police officer Bobby Wright and the city of Española for police brutality.
Dolores Jacquez filed the complaint May 7 in federal court accusing Wright of wrongfully arresting and later mistreating her in May 2006. She was 17 and pregnant at the time.
The city of Española, named as a co-defendant, is accused of failing to properly train Wright and negligently retaining him despite earlier complaints of unlawful arrests and excessive force, the complaint states.
Wright declined to comment, and referred questions to Public Safety Chief Julian Gonzales.
“Right now, I don’t have anything to say until I’ve been served with papers, and I still haven’t been served,” Wright said.
Wright left the Española Police in September to work for Okhay Owingeh Tribal Police. Gonzales said at a June 8 meeting that Wright has since re-applied with Española Police.
Wright has been named in at least three other federal lawsuits against the city, all dealing with improper use of force. He and two other officers were accused of battery and wrongful arrest in a 2003 suit dismissed after the city agreed to an $8,000 settlement. He is also a co-defendant in two pending cases: a 2006 lawsuit alleging civil rights violations during the 2003 arrest of Louis Gallegos, and another related to an incident at Red’s Tavern that left Joe Steven Martinez with a broken ankle and a concussion.
According to the complaint, Jacquez, her boyfriend at the time and his brother were sitting in a car outside the boyfriend’s house in Hernandez when two State Police officers, responding to a report of shots fired in the area, pointed automatic rifles at them. The two officers ordered Jacquez and her boyfriend to stand outside the car with their hands in the air, “a difficult task for (the) boyfriend because he has only one leg,” and subsequently pushed them to the ground, the complaint states.
Richard Rosenstock, Jacquez’s lawyer, said State Police are not named in the lawsuit because the agency agreed to a settlement earlier this year. He declined to specify the settlement amount. The state Public Safety Department has not responded to a request to inspect the settlement.
Jacquez was confined to a State Police vehicle after she “spoke angrily to the officers, raising her voice while talking to them, using profanity at times,” and Wright was called to handcuff Jacquez and drive her to the State Police station in Española, according to the complaint.
When Jacquez asked Wright what would happen to her boyfriend, Wright allegedly responded with, “Shut up, (expletive).”
“You cops are worthless,” Jacquez responded. “I’m trying to ask you a question and you’re telling me to shut up.”
Wright allegedly answered, “Yeah, I’m telling you to shut up, (expletive).”
Once at the State Police station, Wright allegedly handcuffed Jacquez to a bench, leaving a “cut into her wrist (that) was visible for days,” according to the complaint. She was not allowed to use the bathroom, and when she complained the handcuffs were too tight, Wright allegedly threatened to make them “even tighter if she did not shut up.”
She was released 45 minutes later, after posting bond on what the lawsuit describes as unspecified “false charges.”
“It was a ridiculous situation,” Jacquez’s lawyer, Rosentstock, said. “They arrested two other people — the boyfriend and his brother. All three kids were juveniles, and I don’t think (police) ever filed any charges. They just arrested them because (Jacquez) mouthed off to the State Police about them mistreating her boyfriend.”
Jacquez’s lawyers, Rosenstock and Daniel Yohalem, argued Wright violated her civil rights by arresting her with no probable cause. They also argued Wright mistreated Jacquez in retaliation for “having complained about how he had treated her,” violating her free speech rights.
Rosenstock clarified that at this point, it is not clear whether Wright knew why Jacquez had been arrested.
The lawsuit also claims the city failed to investigate a written complaint Jacquez filed after the incident.
“(The city) maintained an unwritten custom or policy of not conducting adequate investigations of complaints of misconduct of Española police officers made by citizens,” Yohalem wrote.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for Jacquez’s physical and emotional injuries and punitive damages against Wright, in addition to attorney’s fees.
Neither Wright nor the city have filed responses to the complaint, according to an online court records database.
Acting city attorney Paula Maynes said the case would likely be referred to the city’s insurance carrier, Berkley Risk Advisors. Robert Cole, a lawyer retained by the insurance company to handle litigation against the city, said he had not yet received notice of the case.
To read a story about the other lawsuits and torts brought against Wright visit www.riograndesun.com.