Police Officer Fired for Assault on Unarmed Man Is Reinstated

A San Diego police officer fired for kicking, beating and using Mace on an unarmed man was reinstated Wednesday by the Civil Service Commission, which cited the testimony of a police instructor who said “a much higher level of force could have been appropriate and justified.”

However, the commission also levied a three-month suspension against Allen A. Stovall, noting that the beating last year was the second action brought against him for alleged misconduct since joining the Police Department in 1986.

The earlier incident occurred in 1987, when Stovall was suspended two days for striking a civilian with the butt of a shotgun.

In the more recent case, the 28-year-old officer was fired in December for assaulting Jose Gonzalez in March, 1988, when the man began asking police about a drive-by shooting in his Harbor View neighborhood.

Told Panel of Beating

Gonzalez told the commission that, while Officer Frank Almond Jr. held him to a street sign, Stovall kicked him repeatedly in the groin, struck him in the ribs with his police baton and sprayed Mace in his eyes.

Gonzalez, at the time a mistaken suspect in the drive-by shooting, was arrested for being drunk in public and obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duties. But city officials said the 35-year-old man was never prosecuted.

The commission said it considered “several critical, mitigating factors” in reaching its decision to overturn the dismissal.

The panel noted that the assault occurred while the officers were trying to handcuff Gonzalez as the man’s wife said: “Get their guns, shoot them, kill the officers!”

The commission said Stovall did not deliberately set out to harm Gonzalez.

Diffusing ‘Dangerous Situation’

“The force used by the appellant was not precipitated by anger or retaliation, but rather to control, handcuff and remove the still-resistant and struggling subject as quickly as possible to diffuse a dangerous situation,” the panel concluded.

The commission said it “seriously considered” the testimony from Sgt. Donald L. Fasching, who teaches defensive tactics at the Police Academy.

Fasching, the commission said, “stated that, based on the woman’s verbal threats and physical actions and continued resistance of the suspect, the resultant force used by the appellant was minimal, and that a much higher level of force could have been appropriate and justified.”

But the commission also noted that the Stovall case suggested a marked difference between the level of force taught to police officers and the amount of force tolerated by police management.