County responds to lawsuit against police
By Tara Donaldson
An attorney for the county has responded to allegations that Prince William police officers assaulted a Latino family.
The family is suing the county police in federal court for assault and false arrest.
Yolanda Hawkins-Bautista, an attorney with the Howrey law firm in Falls Church and Washington, D.C., said Juan and Esperanza Guerrero were unjustly assaulted by police in their own home.
“The raid is an example of an existing problem of discrimination against Latinos in Prince William County in the wake of a resolution aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration,” Hawkins-Bautista said in a written statement.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia on Nov. 23. LatinoJustice/PRLDEF and the law firms of Howrey and Patton Boggs allege that Prince William police used excessive force when they entered the Esperanza home.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges assault and battery, false arrest and false imprisonment, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit seeks declaratory judgment and money damages.
Alice Rowan, the county attorney who is defending the police, said she couldn't comment on the case because it is in litigation, but she said the county will fight the suit rather than settle.
Christina Sarchio, lead counsel for Patton Boggs, explained last week what happened from the Guerrero's point of view. Papers filed by Rowan in defense of the police tell a similar story, but from the officers' point of view.
On Nov. 24, 2007, Sgt. David Moore went to the Guerrero home to serve a summons on Antonia Mungia. According to Sarchio, Mungia did not live at the house but according to Rowan's papers, Moore had reason to believe that she did live at the home but was evading him.
Both sides agree that Esperanza Guerrero offered to take the officer's card and have Mungia call him.
Sarchio maintains that Moore became “agitated” at that point and that Guerrero asked him to leave and attempted to close the door but that Moore put his foot in the doorway to keep her from closing it.
The defense papers indicate that Moore believed Guerrero was inviting him to step inside to give her his business card and that he stepped into the house. Sarchio said Guerrero believed Moore tried to force his way into her house without a warrant.
Regardless, from that point on, the situation deteriorated.
“Suddenly, without any warning, Mrs. Guerrero charged forward and slammed her left forearm and hand against Moore's chest, shoving him backward onto the stoop toward the concrete steps outside,” the defense papers state. “She then began to slam the door closed on Moore's side and screamed loudly at him.”
Sarchio disputes that claim, saying that Guerrero realized that Moore thought she was Mungia and she called to her husband to bring her identification to prove that she was not. Moore, she said, was agitated and was becoming hostile and aggressive.
Defense papers state that Moore tried to arrest Guerrero for assaulting him but that she resisted and he called for backup.
Sarchio said that the four children in the house were frightened by Moore's conduct and called 9-1-1.
“This police officer was being very antagonistic and offensive,” Sarchio said.
Additional officers arrived on the scene, pushed the door open and tried to arrest Guerrero, who, according to Rowan's papers, was resisting arrest.
Sarchio said that as Juan Guerrero, Esperanza's husband, came into the room with his wife's identification, an officer pepper-sprayed his eyes without cause or warning. She said the police team then went through the house and one moved to pepper-spray an elderly woman who lived there as well but were dissuaded by the children, who intervened.
The defense papers suggest that the scene was more chaotic.
“Other people were running around the residence, all shouting and appearing upset,” the affidavit states. “Officer (Luis) Potes shouted at them in English and Spanish to keep back, but they advanced on the officers.”
Both sides agree that in addition to Juan and Esperanza Guerrero, the only occupants of the house at the time were the four children and an elderly woman.
The affidavit states that Juan Guerrero either “tried to grab Mrs. Guerrero or grab at Sergeant Moore or his gun” and that Potes pepper-sprayed him.
Juan Guerrero was handcuffed and an ambulance was called to treat his eyes.
Depending on which side is telling the story, Esperanza Guerrero was either led or dragged from the house and taken to the police station. She was charged with resisting arrest/obstruction of justice and assault and battery on a law enforcement officer.
She was kept in jail for two nights, according to Sarchio, while Juan Guerrero was charged and released.
Sarchio said the Guerreros were tried separately and two separate judges threw out all charges, ruling that the police had acted improperly by trying to enter the home in the first place.
Sarchio said the Guerreros suffered humiliation and injuries from their encounter with the officers and that their children are still afraid of police.
“This was a big deal,” she said, noting that the incident occurred at 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday and that the whole neighborhood witnessed the altercation. “It's very humiliating for them.”
The Guerreros are seeking unspecified monetary damages but they also want to raise public awareness of a growing problem in Prince William, she said.
“They feel that they're living in a hostile environment in Prince William County,” she said. “They can't trust the local police and they felt strongly that if they weren't hispanic, they wouldn't have gone through this.”
Incidents against Latinos have been on the rise in Prince William County since the county approved a resolution in July 2007 that empowered local police officers to act like immigration officials, said Cesar Perales, president and general counsel of LatinoJustice/PRLDEF.
“Latino residents of Prince William County have endured humiliation and even suffered actual injuries from the actions of police officers who have not and cannot abide by the resolution in a non-discriminatory fashion,” Perales said. “This form of discrimination and harassment is intolerable.”
The Prince William Police Department would not return repeated calls for comment. However, Rowan's filing states that the Guerreros showed “intentional misconduct and willful and wanton negligence” and that the officers acted reasonably under the circumstances.
Rowan is asking the judge to dismiss the case and require the Guerreros to pay the county's attorney fees.