Formal complaint: De-escalation of potential force encounters, Assessment and de-escalation, Impartial attitude and courtesy

OF
DEAT
AUSTIN
OFFICE OF
POLICE OVERSIGHT
NOTICE OF FORMAL COMPLAINT
ICMS #: 2021-0846
August 13, 2021
Complaint: The complainant alleges:
"This is the timeline I provided my lawyer on
My subsequent APD blood test
(taken upon booking) came back with zero percent blood alcohol.
arrive at
(my friend"s house) on
in E Austin to celebrate his birthday with friends,
eat lox on cream cheese and everything bagel with poppy seeds, drink nonalcoholic Ginger
brew
have 1 can of beer
(sunset/dark): have (2) 6 OZ margaritas; I
definitely was not drinking after it got dim/dark out and there are witnesses to this
head home. I am tired, usually in bed by
Looking forward to that.
pulled over
at corner of
I had stopped behind cars pointed south stopped at the
light on
noticed the green light for eastbound
then turned into the
,
boarded up gas station driveway. I drove through the driveway and onto
heading west towards my apartment complex. I notice flashing red and blue lights. They
are high up, seem to be flashing from the sides instead of all the way across the top, and on
a large vehicle. I feel confused and think they are the fire truck that parks on
SO I
pull over into the bike lane to let it pass. I feel more confused when the flashing light
vehicle stops behind me and shines a bright light into my rear view mirrors and I think I
hear 'drive to a safe location' - not something I expect from a fire truck. I pull into the
parking lot across from my apartment complex entry driveway. I park in a
space pointing west. The vehicle with flashing lights follows me into the lot, but I can still
only see its nose (it is also facing west). I would normally assume the vehicle is a police
car, but this vehicle seems really large (I start to wonder if it is a big truck), doesn't seem
to be the right colors (seems to have a gold or reflective glow on white instead of
black/white), has a large black nose grille that I don't think I've ever seen on a police car,
and the lights don't seem to be in the usual place for a police vehicle. I feel cautious and
concerned. I'm a female, alone, and it is late at night. I roll down my window and have my
wallet in hand, ready to offer my license, but I don't feel at ease. I have heard of people
pretending to be police in the past; and warnings to females to be cautious about getting
out of the car for fake police. While living in
, this happened to me - that person
pulled on my door handle to open the door - but I was able to drive off. The man
who
approaches my car is wearing a black uniform and black neoprene style mouth mask. The
uniform seems legit, but I am SO thrown off by the vehicle I feel confused. I don't recall
that the officer introduces himself. He asks if I know why I was pulled over, I say no. He
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says it was for driving through private property and asks if I knew that was against the law.
I say no. He asks for license, and though I search my wallet, I unfortunately realized that
my license was missing must have left it in my other purse. The man asked me where I
was coming from. I didn't understand his question - I was in Austin, I live in Austin -
actually live right across the street and SO I said I was coming from East Austin and
friend's birthday party. The man asked me if I had had anything to drink. This all seemed
really out of place to me. I didn't understand why he was asking these questions. I told him
yes, but it was over four hours ago. The man tells me to step out of the car. I ask why and
I think he says he needs to test me for drinking. This is the night that
and I know that people have been out celebrating - I heard them blowing
vuvuzelas and shooting fireworks in the park near me from my friend's house in East
Austin. I also heard streets were being blocked in downtown Austin to protect against
protestors. I have seen videos of Trump supporters' vehicles 'escorting' Biden campaign
busses on Austin highways. The truck I am looking at reminds me of those Trump
supporters' trucks. I imagine that this night could be a good night for anyone with ill intent
towards Biden supporters to be able to identify them by whether or not they have been
drinking. I said I didn't feel comfortable getting out of the car and why (female, solo, late).
I would have been reluctant to tell him I was worried he wasn't a legit police officer or
anything about worry about being pulled out by an upset Trump supporter because I didn't
want to rile him up if that was the case. I said I wanted more officers to be there if I stepped
out of the car. I seem to recall either the man insisting I get out of the car, or making
movements that seemed threatening to me. I was feeling unsafe and wanted to roll up my
window. I moved my key towards the console to power up the power windows. He reached
in the car. He said I was trying to start the car, and reached in my car to take my keys. I
told him I was wanting to close my window and have more people there. There was a
struggle over my keys, with me trying to keep my keys. He opened my car door and told
me to get out of the car. I seem to recall he had my keys at that point, and I felt scared. I
shifted into 'protect myself' mode and wrapped my arms into the steering wheel SO
the
horn would blast continuously. I saw him handle what I guessed was a yellow taser on his
belt, and I prepared for the blast, grabbing the steering wheel more firmly. I was not
wanting to leave my car saw that as a highly risky thing to do given the above
circumstances. He pulled on my arms, and pulled me from the car. I seem to recall landing
on the pavement, but was picked up and moved towards the vehicle with lights. I was
kicking and screaming - was not going to get in that car. When we got to the hood of the
vehicle, I noticed again the large black grille and the gold reflectivity that didn't seem to
fit with the police vehicle colors. I only saw the nose of the never saw the sides. I was
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yelling for help and kicking. The man pushed me towards the hood. I wound up on top of
the hood. Still struggling to get away, assuming he was trying to put me in his car. Someone
drove up in a red SUV on the street and yelled something. The man yelled at them to leave.
Not long after this, other officers arrived. Two officers - one male, one female - handcuffed
me and held me against the hood of the vehicle. I was calm and didn't struggle - this is
what I had requested - to have other officers present. I was willing to do the intoxication
tests now that they had arrived. I asked them to explain what was happening and why now
that they were there we weren't doing the intoxication tests. They told me I was getting
arrested for intoxication while driving and the tests were not necessary. I told the male and
female officer holding me against the vehicle hood in handcuffs that I hadn't wanted to get
out of the car because I didn't recognize the vehicle as a police vehicle. The female officer
listed off several vehicles APD has now - as if to reassure me. I didn't get the sense they
understood the situation or were interested to understand what happened. When I later
asked the arresting officer how he was justifying arresting me for this, he said he could do
it based on my mental indicators! He refused to say what those were. He had me listen to
the spoken reading of the breath / blood sample form while reading it. I needed him to get
me my reading glasses from my car SO I could see the paper. After the form was read out
loud, I asked him to hold the page up SO I could read it with just flashlight and understand
it. I signed it, although I didn't know anything about my options related to signing it - the
arresting officer was brusque and wouldn't explain the options when asked for them. No
one advised me of my Miranda Rights. No one explained what would happen during the
arrest process or what options I had to get help / advising. Officer did not explain the
process or what was happening except when asked and then only partly and with derision.
This happened numerous times - at the car, in the booking office, in the phlebotomist's
office. In the phlebotomist's office, the officer yelled at me aggressively enough that the
phlebotomist ducked her head and stared at the desk. I wish I had had my wits about me
enough to tell them to NOT tow my car to the
towing yard instead of leaving it in
the
parking lot of towing it across the street to my apartment. However, the
arresting officer had access to my address and could see that we were RIGHT THERE AT
MY HOUSE. My steering wheel was damaged that night. When I picked up my car, I
immediately noticed two new gouges in my steering wheel, one with a piece of steering
wheel leather dangling. I also noticed welted abrasions on the underside of the steering
wheel. These were not caused by my hands holding the steering wheel while being pulled
from the car and did not exist prior to
When I picked up my car, which had been
sitting in the tow lot, all the papers that had been in my LOCKED glove compartment to
protect them were in the passenger seat and floorboard. The grocery bag of food I had had
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in the passenger seat was rifled. Coffee from my jar in the console was spilled in my
floorboard, and had soaked insurance and legal documents. I had numerous injuries as a
result of the struggle with the officer - these were visible and documented by my lawyer
days later after I was released from jail. Wrists were sprained and swollen (kitchen sponge
thickness of swelling). Left ankle sprained and deeply swollen (golf ball). Bruises on legs
and arms. Cut on right knee. Left kidney pain and swelling, left lower rib pain, left
underarm pain and swelling, and left from shoulder bruising. I also had PTSD from the
experience that required therapy. By the time I was booked into the jail, my wrists had
swollen to the depth of kitchen sponges and my ankle swelling was the size of a golf ball.
I requested ice in the jail, and was told to 'sit down and shut up' by one of the police officers
on staff when I asked for additional ice after the first bag of luke cold water I was given
was no longer cool. I subsequently read the officer's affidavit - it was full of lies and
inconsistencies. I am happy to go item by item in this affidavit with you. A few items off
the top of my head: He claimed he smelled alcohol on me - impossible given my blood
alcohol level, how long it had been since I had had anything alcoholic to drink, and he was
also wearing a fitted black neoprene mask, SO I don't know if he was smelling his own
breath or possibly the garbage at
.
He also said I acted confused (I was indeed
confused by his behavior) and that I had bloodshot eyes (I was wearing gas permeable
contacts and had had them in my eyes since early in the morning plus I was up past my
bedtime). Most appallingly, it is apparent from his affidavit that he ignored my request to
have other officers present for the field sobriety tests and instead called them for backup
because I was (according to him) 'resisting arrest.' I would like an opportunity to go item
by item through this affidavit. By the end of this ordeal, there were 12 or 13 body and
vehicle camera recordings for my lawyer to review however, he claimed his body camera
fell off between pulling me over and the other officers arriving."
This notice of formal 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.
Recommended Administrative Policies to Review (to include but not limited to):
200.2 DE-ESCALATION OF POTENTIAL FORCE ENCOUNTERS
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NOTICE OF FORMAL COMPLAINT
When safe and reasonable under the totality of circumstances, officers shall use de-escalation
techniques to reduce the likelihood for force and increase the likelihood of voluntary compliance.
200.2.1 ASSESSMENT AND DE-ESCALATION
As officers arrive on the scene, observe conditions, and interact with the persons there, they
should continue to gather additional relevant information and facts. These assessments, along
with reasonable inferences help to develop an understanding of the totality of the circumstances
of the incident.
301.2 IMPARTIAL ATTITUDE AND COURTESY
Employees shall provide equal and fair protection of all rights under local, state, and federal law
for all members of the community. Law enforcement will be conducted in an impartial and
equitable manner.
In an effort to create an organizational culture that is inclusive and nondiscriminatory, employees
shall act professionally, treat all persons fairly and equally, and strive to interact with the
community in a positive manner. Employees will perform all duties objectively and without regard
to personal feelings, animosities, friendships, financial status, occupation or employment status,
sex, disability status, housing status, mental health or ability, citizenship, language, national origin,
creed, color, race, religion, age, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender
expression, ethnicity, or social or ethnic background. Employees will endeavor to understand and
respect cultural, national, racial, religious, physical, mental, and other differences.
Recommended Classification: The OPO is permitted to make a preliminary recommendation on
the classification of administrative cases.
The OPO recommends this complaint receive a B classification.