By Khalida Sarwari
The San Jose City Council today unanimously approved a $97,500 lawsuit settlement with a tire store owner and his nephew who sued the city for alleged mistreatment by police officers three years ago.
Ascencion Calderon and his nephew Samuel Santana filed a suit against the city following a confrontation with police officers on the evening of July 30, 2006.
Alfredo Morales, the attorney for Calderon and Santana, said his clients are relieved that the ordeal has ended.
“They feel a sort of exoneration that there’s been some recognition that there was a wrong done to them,” Morales said. “But no one will adequately be able to compensate them for being assaulted by officers.”
According to City Attorney Rick Doyle, on July 30, 2006, two officers ordered Santana to pull over on Alum Rock Avenue for a missing front license plate and because he was not wearing a seat belt.
Calderon, who had witnessed the scene from across the street, approached the officers and asked them what was going on, but the officers told him to walk away and not interfere with the citation process.
Calderon claims that although he had obeyed the officers’ orders, one officer grabbed him and smashed his face into the hood of the patrol car, kicked him and hit him with a baton, Doyle said.
Both men were charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest. Doyle said their case resulted in a mistrial and the district attorney decided against prosecuting a second time.
In 2007, Calderon and Santana filed a suit against the city seeking compensation for physical injuries and emotional distress they suffered during the confrontation.
“It’s a good settlement considering the circumstances,” Doyle said.