Notice of complaint related to 2022-0909

OF
CITY
LUBERT
OFFICE OF
POLICE OVERSIGHT
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
October 14, 2022
ICMS #: 2022-0909
On October 10, 2022, the OPO received a phone complaint.
The complainant alleges: His faith in the police has been hardened since the incident. He
was walking in his parking lot when a female and male under the influence were speeding
and swerving in the parking lot. When they drove past him, he said, "hey guys slow down".
The man in the car apologized but the female in the car went off the deep end and started
going on a tangent. The complainant went to his apartment and the female was still
downstairs screaming for 30 minutes. He and his neighbor went outside and began to call
311. The female began to hit and attack him and his neighbor while he was talking to 311.
311 transferred him to 911. The complaint and his neighbor put the girl on the ground and
the guy with her was not doing anything to help but was only trying to tell her to stop.
They let the girl up and she jumped in the car and took off screaming and swerving through
the parking lot. The 911 call was disconnected when the girl attacked him. He went back
up to his apartment and called 311 again to let them know the people had left and there was
no longer an emergency. A male officer with blondish hair and a mustache responded to
the original call. The complainant had the girl's name and license plate number, SO he
offered his ID to the officer to file a police report and press assault charges. Five more
officers show up on the scene. As he was talking to the officers, they pressure him into not
pressing assault charges. They took his neighbor's statement and let him go. Three of the
officers surrounded the complainant and told him he had a bench warrant from 2021. He
tried to explain to the officers the court date was for a non-violent incident and that the
court date had been rescheduled for
. He offered to show documents proving
that and the officers said no, we are taking you in and there is nothing that can be done
about it. The complainant was not physical with the officers but explained to them he was
a disabled vet and on meds for PTSD and sometimes gets a little anxious. He had to beg
the officers to let his wife know he was being arrested. While in the car with the female
officer that was transporting him, she told him that she was sorry and that it was on her
because she accidentally left the box checked to search for active warrants when she put
his name in the computer. Nine hours later after sitting in jail because of a clerical error,
they kicked him out the door and said you don't owe us anything and said bye. They
embarrassed him and took him from his home when it could have been handled thru a call
OF
CITY
OFFICE OF
POLICE OVERSIGHT
FOUNDED
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
to his lawyer. The incident has left an impact on him, and he and his neighbors are not
going to call the police anymore if the person reporting is going to be arrested and no one
goes after the dangerous person that was reported.
This notice of complaint is a request for Internal Affairs to initiate an investigation to
determine if the employee conduct is within compliance of APD policy, Civil Service
Rules, and Municipal Civil Service Rules.