O.C. Man Wins Suit
A Superior Court jury on Tuesday awarded $97,000 to a Santa Ana man who alleged that Los Angeles police officers used excessive force when they struck him with a baton and broke his nose, according to the man’s attorney.
The Long Beach jury deliberated for six hours following the weeklong trial in Long Beach Superior Court.
Attorney Terry Mathews, who represented Juan Santillan, 30, said his client was attending a wedding reception at the Sons of Norway Hall in San Pedro on Dec. 6, 1987, when a fight broke out. Mathews said his client was trying to leave when an officer struck Santillan, Mathews said.
“An LAPD officer backhanded him with a baton, literally ripping his nose off and left it dangling,” said Mathews.
Attorneys for the LAPD could not be reached Tuesday.
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