Palo Alto Police Officer Pleads Guilty To Excessive Force

Former Palo Alto police officer Wayne Benitez has pleaded guilty to excessive force charges in connection with the 2018 arrest of Gustavo Alvarez, a gay man. Benitez, who retired amid the fallout from the incident, admitted to misdemeanor counts of assault under color of authority and lying on a police report. As part of his plea deal, he is ordered to complete 750 hours of community service and undergo anger management and LGBTQ sensitivity training. https://twitter.com/mercnews/status/1727137413812629616 More about Benitez from the Mercury News:

He was also known internally as “The Fuse,” a characterization that took on a new dimension after he slammed a handcuffed Gustavo Alvarez face-first into a car windshield in a garage at the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park on Feb. 17, 2018.

A body-worn microphone later captured Benitez saying, “See how quickly they behave once we put our foot down,” and telling another officer, “And that’s what we don’t do enough of.”

While the officers did not record video of the encounter, a year later a security video was eventually made public that laid out in unmistakable detail how Alvarez was not strongly resisting, and contradicted a written report by Benitez stating that the only force he used was pulling Alvarez out of the residence.

The charges for which Alvarez was arrested were later dropped by prosecutors. He sued the city of Palo Alto and police department for excessive force, and also accused the officers of mocking him for being gay during the arrest. The lawsuit resulted in a settlement of $572,500 and the implementation of mandatory LGBTQ sensitivity training for the police force. In the security camera footage included in the report below, it’s clear Benitez slammed Alvarez’s head into the car windshield while handcuffed. https://youtu.be/U-N8WzZjurU?si=bAECIR_nkBW1NZFk