LAGUNA BEACH : City Rejects Claims of Police Brutality

The City Council has rejected a $10-million claim filed against the city by a homeless man who says he was kicked in the face by a police officer during an arrest last summer.

Last month, Christopher B. Mears, attorney for Kevin Anthony Dunbar, released a videotape which he said depicted the June arrest. The tape, which the attorney said was shot by a local resident, shows a man on the ground, surrounded by several officers. One of the officers is seen kicking in the direction of the man.

According to a claim filed with the city, Dunbar, 25, says he was threatened, physically abused and falsely arrested. Police say Dunbar resisted arrest and took a swing at one of the officers. District attorney and police Department investigations into the incident are ongoing.

City Atty. Philip Kohn said the city may reconsider the claim when a report is issued by the district attorney’s office.

“It’s entirely possible when that occurs, depending on its contents, the city could re-evaluate its position,” Kohn said.

The council also rejected two other claims Tuesday involving alleged physical assaults. One $1,200 claim was filed by Laguna Beach resident Keith Merizalde, who said in a report filed with the city that he was beaten by three police officers at a party near Laguna Beach High School on July 4.

Deputy Chief James Spreine said Wednesday that no complaint has been filed against police officers by Merizalde.

Also rejected was a claim for an unspecified amount submitted by Jonathan Miller, a Riverside resident who said in a legal notice filed with the city that he was repeatedly stabbed and seriously injured by a Los Angeles gang at Aliso Beach in June. That claim asserts that the city knew or should have known about “previous disturbances from gang activity” in Laguna Beach but failed to properly supervise the beach.

Spreine said Aliso Beach is not known as a gang hangout and that Laguna Beach is not troubled with gang activity.

“Laguna Beach is one of the few cities in the county that really doesn’t have a known or identified gang,” Spreine said. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, he said.

City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said that the city denies virtually all such claims initially and that the council’s action has no bearing on whether the claims are justified.

“It’s a procedural thing,” he said. “It doesn’t mean necessarily we agree with the claim or don’t agree with the claim.” However, Frank added, ‘Nine out of 10 are totally without any conceivable merit whatsoever.”