RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Virginia family is suing two Richmond police officers seeking $2 million in damages, accusing them of unjustifiably attacking them after they were rear-ended by a hit-and-run driver in 2019.
In the lawsuit, Elder Chacon, Brenda Samayoa and their 12-year-old daughter stated that two Richmond police officers used excessive force and inflicted emotional distress by using a stun gun on Chacon and pushing Samayoa and the child to the ground.
Family attorney Jonathan E. Halperin told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the police-worn body camera recording is disturbing. He declined to release the video or comment any further.
Richmond police declined to comment.
According to the suit, the family was involved in a four-car crash on Aug. 7, 2019. Two officers responded to the scene and the daughter spoke for her parents, who do not speak English fluently.
The daughter tried to tell the officers that a vehicle had struck the family from behind and fled the scene, according to the lawsuit. It says the officers ignored the explanation and wrote Chacon a ticket, which he refused to sign.
The suit said one officer became enraged, threw his clipboard down and “violently grabbed” at Chacon.
Samayoa stepped between the two men but the officer pushed her into her daughter and forced Chacon to the ground, the lawsuit said.
One officer then punched Chacon in the head and body, while the other used a stun gun on him, the lawsuit said.
Chacon was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer but the charge was ultimately dropped.
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