Mexicans Who Sued Deputies Win $1 Million

A federal court jury in Los Angeles awarded nearly $1 million in damages Wednesday to three Mexican nationals who claimed they were illegally beaten by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies during an altercation in Victorville that was videotaped by a next-door neighbor.

The case became a cause celebre in the desert community of Victorville, where Latino activists claimed police brutality. The deputies maintained that their use of force was justified because one of the men pushed an officer, then grabbed for the guns of two deputies during a scuffle.

What the deputies and civilians did not know at the time, was that part of the violent confrontation was captured on videotape. The four-minute tape was ruled admissible by U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima and appeared to have played a key role in Wednesday’s verdict.

The trial was one of the first in which a videotape was used as evidence in a police brutality case in federal court. Latino activists say the tape provided the first substantive evidence of what they allege has been a pattern of racially motivated acts by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies against minorities, a charge denied by county officials.

The tape was played numerous times for the jury. It appears to show several uniformed officers using fists and batons on some of the plaintiffs, who seemed to offer little resistance.

Lawyers for the deputies said the tape showed only a portion of the altercation and did not depict one of the civilians shoving a deputy.

The original suit was filed by five men--who became known to activists as the “Victorville Five”--against five deputies, San Bernardino County, and Sheriff Floyd Tidwell. But earlier this month, Judge Tashima split the trial into two parts and the second phase against the county and Tidwell may begin as early as next month.

The six-member jury, which deliberated for about two days, unanimously awarded three of the five plaintiffs damages totaling $956,000 against Deputies Mark Swagger, John Gocke and Sgt. Tim Miller.

Victor Serrano, 26, was awarded $150,000 in compensatory damages and $150,000 in punitive damages against Deputy Swagger.

Serrano’s 50-year-old father, Efren, was awarded $60,000 in compensatory damages and $56,000 in punitive damages, also against Swagger.

Auro Ruiz, 34, who was also involved in the altercation, was awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages against Deputies Gocke and Miller. The jury also imposed punitive damages of $250,000 against Gocke and $40,000 against Miller.

In their verdict, the jurors ruled that the deputies had violated the constitutional rights of the other two plaintiffs--Efren Serrano’s 29-year-old son, Jose, and Javier Ruelas, another friend who was involved in the altercation. But those two plaintiffs were not awarded damages because the jurors found the deputies “acted in good faith” and were “entitled to qualified immunity.”

No damages were assessed against Deputies Paul Schmidt and Joe L. Phillips.

Stephen Yagman, who represented the plaintiffs, said the verdict would put them in a good position to prove their case against San Bernardino County and Sheriff Tidwell.

“This is only the first part,” Yagman said. “We’ve gotten some corporals. The more important job of going after the general will come in a couple of weeks.

“We’ve won the game,” Yagman said. “The question now is what the final score will be.”

Yagman said there was no possibility that he would settle the second phase of the suit because “in a case where the wrongful conduct is so egregious the only way to vindicate the plaintiffs is through a jury trial.”

David D. Lawrence, who represented the five deputies, declined to comment on the verdict.

Under California law, the deputies will be reimbursed for the compensatory damages--a total of $466,000--that were imposed against them.

Lawrence said it was “an open question” whether San Bernardino County would reimburse the deputies for the punitive damages.

The case stemmed from an all-night party that began on June 29, 1988, and spilled into the next day. Deputies said they were called to Jose Serrano’s house on 5th Street after receiving complaints about noise coming from the party.

What was not in dispute at the trial was that when deputies arrived, they asked the men to take their party indoors. One deputy followed Jose Serrano into the house in an attempt to persuade him to get the others to come inside and would not leave despite Serrano’s repeated request that he do so. Finally, an irritated Serrano started out the door.

At that point, a struggle ensued. Schmidt testified that when he put his arm around Serrano’s neck in an effort to use a “carotid control hold,” he felt Serrano’s hand reaching for a gun on his right hip.

Hearing the commotion, a next-door neighbor turned on his video camera and began recording the events through a window of his house. A few days later, he gave the tape to a Latino activist. The neighbor is now said to be living in Mexico and cannot be found.

The tape shows one of the deputies yanking on a nightstick under Jose Serrano’s arm. It also shows a deputy jamming an elbow between Serrano’s shoulder blades in an effort, the deputy testified, to release the man’s grasp.

Deputy Swagger is seen swinging his baton at Efren and Victor Serrano and one blow appears to strike Efren Serrano in the head. It appears to show Jose Serrano being struck three times while he was on the ground handcuffed. Swagger testified that only one of the blows hit Serrano.

The five civilians were arrested but only Jose Serrano was charged. Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in Victorville Municipal Court on misdemeanor charges against Serrano of battery against an officer and interfering with an officer.

Four weeks after the altercation, Yagman filed suit.

The Sheriff’s Department investigated the incident and decided against disciplining the deputies, attorney Lawrence said.

Lawrence said he thought that the jurors “probably” awarded damages against three of the deputies because they were depicted in the videotape.