The attorneys for a 38-year-old man who was recorded repeatedly getting struck by a San Bernardino police officer’s baton have filed a claim seeking more than $5 million from the city, citing battery, negligence and malicious prosecution.
A claim is a required precursor to a lawsuit.
Warning: Video shows violence and contains slur and cussing
In a news release, attorneys Dale K. Galipo, Sharon J. Brunner and James S. Terrell said Billy Lee Hill suffered two broken legs and emotional trauma.
Police Chief Darren Goodman, in a written statement, said that the department is investigating the conduct of three officers as they attempted to arrest Hill on June 6.
Police, in a video posted to YouTube that includes body-worn camera footage, said officers responded to 133 E. 40th St. at about 8 p.m. after a 911 caller reported a man had crashed a motorcycle that he said did not belong to him. They encountered Hill, an employee of the nearby Kwik Stop Dairy.
He appeared to match the description of a man wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, Sgt. Christopher Gray said in the video.
Police said Hill made comments about a motorcycle, raising their suspicions that he was involved.
But Hill’s lawyers say the officers went after the wrong suspect — Hill was not on the motorcycle.
Goodman, in an interview on Friday, Aug. 23, said he did not know yet whether officers detained the correct person. Goodman also said the investigation had no new developments since his Aug. 14 statement.
Warning: Video shows violence
The police video shows officers ordering Hill to put his hands above his head and then behind his back. He does neither and instead repeatedly questions why the officers want to detain and handcuff him. Gray said in the video that Hill tensed his arms, making handcuffing him difficult.
“I’m not doing nothing,” Hill says.
An officer uses a stun gun on Hill, who reacts by kicking at the officer. Gray says a freeze frame of the video shows Hill grabbing the weapon.
A co-worker at the market recorded the confrontation as well.
That recording shows an officer swinging the baton like a baseball batter, bringing the weapon behind his head before unleashing blows to Hill’s legs.
The co-worker shouts at officers during the arrest, at one point using a homophobic slur to describe the officer with the baton.
“He’s not resisting. … Hey, this guy needs to be fired. … You’re going to lose your job, punk. Rodney King! Rodney King! Rodney King! … Another San Bernardino cop loses his mind.”
Officers eventually get Hill handcuffed and on the ground.
San Bernardino police officers are shown in an image taken from a bystander’s recording attempting to handcuff Billy Hill on June 6, 2024. Attorneys for Hill have filed a million claim against the city, alleging battery and other acts. Hill has been charged with a felony count of resisting arrest. (Courtesy of Dale K. Galipo)
“All of these strikes were unnecessary, excessive and without justifiable cause,” Hill’s attorneys said. “As seen on the video, the SBPD officer used both hands and his full force while striking Mr. Hill violently 16 times in motions similar to swinging a baseball bat or striking a piñata.
“The officer intended to inflict severe physical injury and damage to Mr. Hill when he struck him with the police baton,” they said. “The other two officers … failed to intervene.”
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office charged Hill with two felonies: resisting arrest and taking a weapon from an officer. He is due to be arraigned on Aug. 29 in a hearing where he is also scheduled to be arraigned on a misdemeanor resisting arrest charge that resulted from an incident in May.
“As chief of police, I want to assure the public that we take incidents involving the use of force with the utmost seriousness. The actions depicted in the video are under thorough investigation,” Goodman wrote.
The claim was filed on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
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