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CNN has reached out to Feltonโs lawyer, Joshua Visco, for remark however has not but gotten a response.
Attorneys for the teenager, recognized by these legal professionals as Anthony Romero, filed a lawsuit September 10 in opposition to town of Baldwin Park, Felton, a police sergeant and different officers with the division. The go well with seeks a jury trial and normal and punitive damages for Romero.
In line with the lawsuit, on September 22, 2019, Felton assisted one other officer in pulling over a car in Baldwin Park after the motive force allegedly didnโt yield throughout a visitors cease. Romero, then 16 years outdated, was a passenger within the car. He exited the automotive and started operating out of worry after he noticed officer Felton pointing his firearm via the window of the police cruiser, the civil criticism says.
Shortly after being chased on foot by Felton, Romero obeyed the officerโs instructions to cease operating and laid down together with his face on the bottom, the criticism says. Romero was not resisting arrest, was not a bodily menace to the officer, was unarmed, and had his arms and arms seen to the officer, the lawsuit says.
Together with his firearm nonetheless drawn, Felton approached the teenager and kicked him, with power, within the ribs and within the face, โterrifying the plaintiff who thought he was going to die,โ in response to the criticism.
Felton positioned Romero, who was handcuffed, within the backseat of the police cruiser and, with out being provoked, allegedly struck the teenager within the face and physique, the go well with says. One other officer allegedly watched the incident and didnโt intervene, the go well with says.
The teenager had a bruised face, cuts on his physique, and was coated within the officersโ โshoeprintsโ from once they have been allegedly โstomping on his legs and physiqueโ within the police station, the criticism says.
When Romeroโs mom arrived to select up her son, Felton handed her the quotation and allegedly stated her son โwas very fortunate since he might have been shotโ and defined he needed to โtough up [the teen] in an effort to educate him a lesson.โ
Following a legal investigation carried out by the Los Angeles County Sheriffโs Division, Felton was launched from responsibility and is now not employed by the Metropolis of Baldwin Park, Captain Chris Hofford informed CNN.
โIt was objectively unreasonable for officers to have utilized this degree of power on my sixteen-year-old consumer,โ stated Romeroโs lawyer, Wesley Ouchi. โHe was cooperative, surrendered, unarmed, non-resisting, compliant, and non-threatening. This conduct is universally unacceptable in any society.โ
Felton is scheduled to return to courtroom for a listening to on December 7 on the Foltz Felony Justice Heart, the LA County district lawyerโs workplace stated.
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