The Washington Post
September 14, 1990, Friday, Final Edition
D.C. Man Sues Fairfax Over Police Clubbing;
Officer Was Fired After 1989 Incident
BYLINE: Robert F. Howe, Washington Post Staff Writer
SECTION: METRO; PAGE B4
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LENGTH: 559 words
A District resident is demanding $ 60 million from Fairfax
County officials, alleging that he suffered permanent brain damage early last
year when police clubbed him after he was handcuffed and subdued for traffic
violations.
Victor M. Cruz, 33, alleged in a civil suit filed yesterday
in federal court in Alexandria that Sgt. R.L. Smith and unnamed officers used
excessive force when they arrested him after what police described as an
eight-mile, high-speed chase.
Cruz, a Salvadoran native who came to the United States
seven years ago, also claimed that Chief of Police John E. Granfield and the
Board of Supervisors have failed to properly train and discipline county police
officers.
Joel A. Skirble, Cruz's attorney, described the incident as
a mugging and said the suit notifies police "that this kind of criminal
behavior against defenseless minorities will no longer be tolerated."
At a news conference yesterday in his office, Skirble said
he found it "ironic that the same kind of police brutality that Mr. Cruz
sought to escape in El Salvador ends up victimizing him just a few miles from
our nation's capital."
Fairfax police spokesman Warren Carmichael said the
department had not received a copy of the suit and would not comment on the
incident or the allegations. Carmichael also declined to comment on past or
ongoing brutality claims against Fairfax police.
Assistant County Attorney Robert M. Ross would not discuss
specific cases but said that in the last two years there have been cases in
which officers were disciplined and sometimes removed from the force for using
excessive force.
Smith was fired shortly after Cruz was arrested the night of
April 27, 1989, according to law enforcement sources. An FBI investigation into
Smith's conduct determined there were no grounds for filing criminal charges
against the officer and the investigation was dropped, sources said.
The incident began when a Loudoun County sheriff's deputy
observed a car traveling south in the northbound lane of Route 28 near Dulles
International Airport, according to the Loudoun Sheriff's Department.
Fairfax police picked up the car after it ran stoplights at
the Dulles Toll Road and Route 50 intersections, law enforcement officials said
at the time. The pursuit ended when police, following procedure, rammed Cruz's
car, police said.
Cruz was charged with several misdemeanors, including
driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license, reckless driving and
failing to stop for police. Skirble said his client pleaded guilty to some of
the charges and served 32 days in jail.
Skirble said that the police department's quick action
against Smith in no way exonerates Fairfax officials. "Should they get
credit for firing him? No. They should never have hired him," Skirble
said.
Smith could not be reached for comment.
Skirble added that Cruz, who was treated for two cuts above
his left eye, did not resist arrest after police stopped his car and that the
officer had no reason to use force. "I don't believe a police chase and
intoxication gives a police officer the right" to club a suspect, Skirble
said.
Cruz and his wife, Maria Claibel Cruz, are seeking $ 30
million in punitive damages and $ 30 million in compensatory damages against
all nine county supervisors, Chief Granfield and former sergeant Smith.