Facts

James Robert Hartley was a full-time student at Foothill College. Navell Donte Robinson was a passenger in Hartley's vehicle. On Nov. 15, 2002, Hartley and Robinson were driving in a 1979 Chevrolet in East Palo Alto's Gardens neighborhood, an area known for drugs sales, gang activity and violence. Hartley's car was stopped at a stop sign for suspected drug possession. The officers forced the two men out of the car. Hartley claimed the arresting officers threw him to the ground face-first, and beat him with a baton though he did not resist arrest. Robinson claimed he was seized by the throat for one minute and 30 seconds.

Officer Canty testified that he thought he saw Robinson make a drug sale minutes earlier to the stop. Deputies Moran and Owen, and Officer Canty all testified that they saw plaintiff Robinson throw what they believed was crack cocaine into Robinson's mouth. Robinson refused to open his mouth and refrain from swallowing, despite the commands made by Deputies Moran and Owen. The deputies used P.O.S.T procedures taught in state law enforcement academies designed to prevent suspects from swallowing contraband, but were unsuccessful. Although Robinson failed to follow the commands of the officers, he was released at the scene and was never arrested. Only Hartley was arrested for resisting arrest. Charges were later dropped against Hartley.

The emergency room doctor and nurse testified that Hartley's shoulder was not dislocated, and the diagnosis was a shoulder sprain. Hartley complained of wrist pain the next day, and was treated at another local ER. His arm was in a splint for over a month, but was not broken. Robinson was treated for alleged mouth injuries the next day at the local ER. An audio tape of the incident made by East Palo Alto Officer Toney Canty, which demonstrated that plaintiffs failed to cooperate with the officers, and that Hartley resisted arrest, was played for the jury.

The police procedures expert for the County Defendant deputy sheriffs and the Parole Agent Jeff Gates (State Department of Corrections) was Don Stuart Cameron, who testified that the officers followed standard police practices. The medical expert, radiologist William Hoddick, M.D., testified that plaintiff Hartley did not sustain a fractured wrist as a result of the incident.

Result

Defense verdict.