Injured Man Sues Police Department

A Colorado man has sued the Redondo Beach Police Department, charging that officers smashed his nose, broke some of his teeth and opened a large gash on his head during a beating in the city jail last year.

In his lawsuit, Chris Curran, 26, says Officer Steve Zent arrested him and a friend, Matthew Scoffman, about 2 a.m. on June 10 after Zent concluded that Scoffman had been driving under the influence of alcohol. Curran, who also had been drinking, was a passenger in the car.

After the pair were taken to the police station, Curran, still in handcuffs, began questioning why he was in custody, said Stephen Gray, Curran’s attorney. An officer responded by shoving Curran’s face into a wall, Gray said.

The lawsuit does not state how much Curran, who was never charged with a crime, is seeking in damages.

According to a police report filed that night by Zent and Officer John Walker, Curran, who had been arrested for being drunk in public, repeatedly disobeyed orders about where he was supposed to stand, wandering off into a nearby corridor. At one point, Walker said in the report, Curran began to disrupt the booking area.

Just as Walker took Curran by the arms to escort him to a holding cell, Curran began to turn swiftly toward the officer, stumbled, and fell face first into a closet door, the report said. Paramedics were called and Curran was taken to South Bay Hospital for treatment.

Capt. Ray Graham declined comment, saying that counsel had advised the department not to discuss the suit.