Man files federal lawsuit against APD officer caught on camera punching him on 6th Street

AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin man has filed a federal lawsuit against an Austin police officer he says punched him in the head unprovoked on Sixth Street last month.

The lawsuit also names the City of Austin as a defendant.

READ MORE: VIDEO: Austin police officer on restricted duty after punching man on 6th Street

Lawsuit outlines October 10 incident

Timeline:

The lawsuit outlines the incident on Sixth Street on Friday, Oct. 10.

The plaintiff, James Rodriguez, had been walking down the street when officers detained two teenagers standing near him.

One officer, not the one named as a defendant, "viciously threw [one of the teens] to the ground, and then straddled him and began punching him in the head," said the lawsuit.

Officer Garcia, the officer named as a defendant in the lawsuit, threw the other teen to the ground where he landed on his back. 

The teen "immediately put his empty hands up in front of him in surrender" as Garcia straddled him and pushed his face into the concrete.

That teen was detained by another officer, while Garcia allegedly got up and joined in punching and kneeling on the first teen.

Onlookers "expressed dismay" at the officers' actions and called for them to stop. In response, Garcia stood and began pushing the onlookers away while the other officer continued punching the teen in the head and face.

One of the onlookers was Rodriguez, who had been standing with his empty hands at his sides, says the lawsuit.

Garcia handcuffed and detained a woman who had been begging them to stop hitting the teen. As Garcia was leading her away and past Rodriguez, Garcia "suddenly turned toward Plaintiff Rodriguez and, without warning, punched [him] in the head, knocking [him] to the ground," says the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states neither Garcia nor any other officer had given any commands to Rodriguez before the punch.

The punch had been so hard, it knocked Rodriguez unconscious, says the lawsuit.

Dig deeper:

Video of the incident was posted to social media, drawing a response from Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, who called Garcia's actions "inexcusable and indefensible." Watson also called for him to be fired.

Garcia was placed on restricted duty at the time, according to Police Chief Lisa Davis.

Court documents obtained by FOX 7 Austin say that before the incident was caught on camera, an officer was trying to break up a fight when he was "unexpectedly attacked from behind" by a man named Johnny Acuna-Jacobo. 

The officer said "the blows caused immediate, sharp pain, and disorientation." The affidavit said the officer took Jacobo to the ground, and he started punching him in the face with closed fists to restrain him.

19-year-old Acuna-Jacobo was charged with second-degree felony assault on a peace officer and has a court appearance scheduled for Dec. 12, according to court records.

What they're saying:

Rodriguez's lawyer, Jeff Edwards, stated, 

"This abuse is as bad as it gets. The decision of the officer to punch James Rodriguez in the head without warning, provocation, or justification is the definition of excessive force, and regrettably, is all too common at the department."

In response to the news about the lawsuit, the City said:

"The City has not yet been served with this lawsuit, but will review it and respond appropriately."

Lawsuit alleges "long history" of excessive force

Big picture view:

The bulk of the lawsuit, about 27 pages, outlines 53 examples of Austin police officers using excessive force going back to at least 2009, with multiple officers identified as being involved in more than one incident.

The examples include some high-profile cases, such as Javier Ambler, Dr. Mauris De Silva, Michael Ramos, the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Alex Gonzales and his girlfriend Jessica Arellano, and Raj Moonesinghe.

In the lawsuit, officers are accused of kicking and punching handcuffed or otherwise detained subjects, shooting subjects with both duty weapons and TASERs, slamming subjects on the ground and into vehicles and other uses of excessive force.

In each incident, the lawsuit states, the officers were not disciplined or investigated by APD. Instead, many of the lawsuits were settled by the City of Austin.

The lawsuit alleges that APD both fails to train its officers to use de-escalation tactics and encourages officers to escalate quickly or immediately to head strikes.

The lawsuit also alleges that the city has "systematically failed to supervise or discipline its officers, rarely disciplines officers for using excessive force," leading to excessive force and failure to de-escalate becoming the "de facto practice/policy of APD and the City of Austin".