 |
|||||
|
Council rejects man's claim he was struck by an officer
The Hermosa Beach City Council on Tuesday rejected a claim for $2,000 by a man who says he was knocked to the ground and struck in the face by police officers while his sister was getting a traffic ticket.
Police said they wrestled the man to the ground after he interfered with the traffic stop, and he rose to his feet and fell to the ground a second time.
The incident occurred at Artesia Boulevard near Pacific Coast Highway about 11 p.m. on Sept. 2, 1999, as the 27-year-old Lawndale man was leaving his job in Manhattan Beach on his bicycle. On the way home he saw his sister getting pulled over in a car, and stopped as well.
In his claim, the man seeks $2,000 from the city to pay medical bills for a CAT scan and treatment for a cut at his eye. Claims against public entities often represent the first step in a lawsuit.
The man, who was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor disobedience to an officer, acknowledged in his claim that he said "F***k you, pigs," to an officer and refused to dismount from his bike and submit to a pat search.
In a police report, officers stated that the man yelled profanities at them, and resisted attempts to search him and to place him under arrest. The search yielded nothing, and a later urinalysis showed no illegal drugs in the man's system.
In other action, the council directed city staff to write a letter to the operators of the Marineland mobile home park concerning flooding from the recent storm system.
"This is clearly a health and safety issue for the tenants," Councilman John Bowler said.
He also praised city firefighters and public works staff for getting sandbags to city residents during the storm.
The council agreed to help organizers in their ongoing attempt to form a downtown business improvement district that would promote the area and work on a variety of improvements. ER