Federal Panel Indicts Deputy in Vista Beating

A former San Diego County sheriff’s deputy was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury that accused him of violating the civil rights of a handcuffed, mentally impaired man by repeatedly beating him over the head during a routine disturbance call.

The misdemeanor charge against former Deputy Benjamin Galvan comes after the county district attorney’s office, which normally investigates accusations of criminal conduct by law enforcement officers, apparently never reviewed the September, 1987, incident in Vista.

Galvan was fired by the Sheriff’s Department only after he was involved in a second, unrelated altercation, in which he purportedly confronted a private investigator working for the county with a firearm.

The one-count indictment returned Tuesday alleges that Galvan, who had worked as a deputy both in the Vista Jail and out of the Vista patrol station, responded to a midnight disturbance call at the home of John Phillip McDougall.

Allegedly Handcuffed and Beaten

Carol Lam, an assistant U.S. attorney, said McDougall was handcuffed and beaten “repeatedly” over the head with a flashlight by Galvan.

Galvan, who lives in Escondido and faces a maximum punishment of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted, could not be reached for comment.

But his attorney, James Gattey, predicted that Galvan will be found not guilty.

“I can tell you that my experience in these cases indicates that the evidence is as weak, if not weaker, than that which has resulted in acquittals for a number of law enforcement officers,” he said.

“I feel confident about this case. I really do,” Gattey said.

Particularly Severe

Lam declined to discuss specifics about the alleged assault. But David Thompson, the attorney for McDougall, said the beating was particularly severe given McDougall’s previous mental impairment, which the lawyer declined to specify.

The lawyer said McDougall suspected a prowler at his home and called the Sheriff’s Department. But, when deputies arrived, they mistakenly thought McDougall was the prowler, Thompson said.

He said the ensuing argument escalated into a physical confrontation.

“They handcuffed him and Galvan beat him with a flashlight, four times in the head,” Thompson said. “He was on his knees and then on his stomach.

“Mr. McDougall claims he’s emotionally brain-damaged,” Thompson said. “But, whether that came from the blows to the head or from before is difficult to tell yet.”

One of 72 Complaints

Lam said the case was one of 72 civil rights complaints against the Sheriff’s Department reviewed during the past year by the U.S. attorney’s office. The complaints were lodged by people who alleged that they were beaten by deputies.

The bulk of those were complaints from past and current jail inmates, but the U.S. attorney has declined to pursue them. One final jail brutality case is still under review.

Lam said her office reviewed the Galvan case strictly from the standpoint of a potential civil rights violation and determined that McDougall’s Fourth Amendment right to being arrested without an undue amount of police force was violated.

“You have the right to be arrested with only the force necessary to affect your arrest, and no more,” she said.

Lam said she does not know why the county district attorney’s office never filed criminal charges in the case, or whether that office even reviewed the matter.

All Shootings Probed

Linda Miller, a spokeswoman for the district attorney, said the office investigates all law enforcement-related shootings in the county, but not necessarily all law enforcement-related assaults.

She said a check in her office Tuesday turned up no sign that the state prosecutors ever received the case, either from the sheriff’s internal affairs unit or in the form of a complaint by McDougall.

However, Thompson said he recalled having a complaint sent to the district attorney about the alleged beating. “I think we sent the whole package down to the D.A.’s office,” he said. “We never heard back.”

Sgt. Bob Takeshta, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman, declined to discuss the Internal Affairs review of the case and whether the internal probe was ever forwarded to the district attorney. He declined to discuss the case for legal reasons, noting that McDougall and his wife, Peggy Sue McDougall, have filed lawsuits against the county.

Dismissed After Confrontation

But Galvan was not terminated from the Sheriff’s Department because of the allegations raised by McDougall. Instead, his dismissal came after he allegations that he angrily confronted a private investigator in December, 1987.

He was fired in June, 1988, for that altercation. He appealed the dismissal, and the county’s Civil Service Commission in April upheld the termination.

According to Larry Cook, the commission’s executive officer, Galvan was on leave from the Sheriff’s Department because of a worker’s compensation claim when the private investigator, Robert Kennemur, began trailing him to verify the deputy’s injury.

Cook said that Kennemur, who was hired by the county, was videotaping Galvan outside the deputy’s home when Galvan noticed him.

Cook said evidence presented to the commission showed that Galvan pulled his firearm, aimed it at Kennemur and ordered him to lie face-down on the ground.

Cook said the evidence also showed that Galvan seized the videotape, erased it, then lied to his superiors about what he had done.