Attorney Tony Piccuta Travels to California to Take Deposition in Police Excessive Force Case

This week, Scottsdale personal injury attorney, Tony Piccuta, traveled to California to take the sworn statement of a police officer who was involved in an excessive force incident with Piccuta’s client. The client was 16 years old at the time and buying candy for his little sister. The client got into an argument with the store clerk and was told to leave the store by a police officer in plain clothes who was waiting in line to purchase something. The client told the officer he wasn’t doing anything wrong and left the store.

The officer did not like how the client spoke to him and, as the client was exiting the store, the officer drug him back inside and slammed him to the ground. The officer then kneeled on his back and repeatedly punched the client in the face knocking out both his front teeth and chipping a third. The client called out for this mother the entire time the assault was occurring.

After the beating, the officer staged evidence to corroborate what he would later write in his police report. The officer put in his report that they were struggling and that the two tripped over a stack of shopping baskets causing them to fall. However, the entire incident was caught on store surveillance and shows that the officer slammed the client to the ground. The surveillance also shows the officer placing the shopping baskets in the middle of the aisle, where they were never positioned during the assault, and taking a picture of them for evidence.

Actual pictures of the client’s injury and front teeth in an evidence bag are below.

Last year, Piccuta obtained a six-figure civil rights jury verdict in federal court. Piccuta is recognized for the work he does in civil rights cases, especially cases involving police excessive force and police misconduct. If you or a loved one were the victims of police excessive force or police misconduct, contact Scottsdale Injury Lawyers today to discuss your case.