SANTA ANA : $3.5 Million Asked in Arrest Injuries

An attorney asked Superior Court jurors Wednesday to award up to $3.5 million to a Fullerton carpenter who was injured during an arrest in 1987 and suffered brain damage.

John Picco, 51, can no longer work and may someday have to be institutionalized because of his injuries, said his attorney, John R. Cogorno. Cogorno alleged that the injuries occurred when Picco was struck in the head by a pair of handcuffs and fell to the pavement.

Picco recently tried to work as a school crossing guard, but his brain damage caused him to forget to go to the job, Cogorno said.

Newport Beach Officer Craig Frizzell and Reserve Officer Paul Habermehl contend that Picco caused his own injuries when he refused to sit on a bench after they handcuffed him for being drunk in public.

Picco leaped up, tripped and fell, striking his head on the pavement, said attorney David Brobeck, who represents the officers. They have been cleared of any misconduct by the Police Department.

Jurors began deliberating late Wednesday in the civil case brought by Picco on whether the officers used excessive force and violated his civil rights.

Brobeck told jurors that Picco’s drinking habits and a 1984 incident in which he was beaten up outside a bar may have contributed to his brain damage.