Clovis police chief defends officers after man files excessive force lawsuit over dog bite

Discussion: @LEO Round Table

Clovis Police Chief Curt Fleming on Thursday denied that his officers used excessive force against a Fresno man who was bitten several times by a K9 dog officer during a traffic stop.

Fleming was responding to allegations contained in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Thursday by 28-year-old Jamal Jones.

Jones and his team of attorneys have accused several Clovis police officers of unlawfully stopping him on May 3, 2021 as he was driving on Ashlan Avenue, west of the Highway 168 off ramp.

One of Jones’s attorneys, James Bryant of the Cochran Firm of Los Angeles, said Clovis police did not have probable cause to stop his client and what resulted from his arrest was a violation of his civil rights.

But Fleming said his officers did nothing wrong. Fleming held his own press conference Thursday at the department’s headquarters on Fifth Street.

Fleming showed the body cam footage of that night. He said two Clovis officers stopped Jones for having an illegal tint on his windows.

After getting his driver’s license and registration, the officers learned Jones had an arrest history that included kidnapping, brandishing a weapon, and resisting arrest. One of the officers also noticed a tattoo of a Fresno street gang on Jones, Fleming said.

As officers stood by the vehicle, one of them saw a handgun wedged between the driver’s door and the seat.

“Knowing the history of Mr. Jones our officers wanted to make sure they went home safe that night, so one of them grabbed his hand and told him not to reach for the gun,” Fleming said.

The gun and its illegal 17-round clip was stolen, the chief said.

The body cam footage shows Jones struggling with the officers, but part of that was because he was tangled in his seatbelt, Jones’s attorney said.

Fleming says the seat belt wasn’t buckled, it was just behind Jones’s back.

Jones’s lawyers allege he was complying with the officers commands. Fleming said that wasn’t true, adding that one of the officers used a Taser on Jones.

At one point, Jones was taken to the ground and the K-9 officer was brought in because he kept resisting, the chief said.

“He was pushing up off the ground and not complying,” Fleming said. “Mr. Jones was still fighting trying to get up and run away.”

The K-9 was used only until officers were able to handcuff Jones, Fleming said.

Jones’s lawyers said their client was not given proper medical attention. The body cam footage shows an officer applying a bandage to Jones’ leg a few minutes after he was bitten. Paramedics were also called and Jones was transported to a hospital, Fleming said.

Also disputed was a comment made by one of the officers at the hospital. Bryant alleged the officer said to Jones that the police dog must have liked the taste of his “caramel skin” because that dog “really ate you up well.”

Fleming flatly denied that happened. He said he reviewed body cam footage from officers at the hospital.

“That statement was never made, and if that ever occurred that officer would be fired on the spot,” Fleming said. “That is not tolerated.”

Fleming said he called the press conference to refute some of the allegations but to also assure the community that his police department takes complaints of excessive force very seriously.

“If something was done wrong a year ago, we would have dealt with it,” he said.
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