Victor Cruz, 33, a native of El Salvador, charged in a
federal suit filed in September 1992 that he suffered permanent brain damage in
1989 when Fairfax County police handcuffed and then clubbed him. David Kayson,
Cruz's attorney, argued yesterday that because Smith was a high-level officer
that his actions constituted department policy. "This is a command
officer," Kayson said. "It suggested that there was a high
probability that it was policy" to use extreme force against
suspects.