Man Files $50,000 Suit, Claiming Santa Ana Officer Assaulted Him

A county man filed a $50,000 lawsuit Wednesday against the City of Santa Ana and one of its police officers, claiming that the officer brutalized him during an investigation.

The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Santa Ana, claims that Michael Cabrerra and several other officers went to a house in the 1000 block of Oak Street last July 6 and ordered Alfred J. Campos and several other people to lie face down on the ground.

Cabrerra “put his foot on plaintiff’s neck and bent plaintiff’s left arm back behind plaintiff causing it to fracture,” the suit said. “Plaintiff was not arrested.”

According to the suit, the officers’ actions were “willful” and “malicious” and deprived Campos of his civil rights. Neither Campos nor his attorney, Paul T. Minerich, could be reached for comment.

Santa Ana Police Lt. David Salazar said that he had no knowledge of the suit. “The department has a policy of looking into citizen complaints against officers,” Salazar said. “I don’t even know if there’s a citizen complaint on this case.”