Suit Alleging Officers Used Excessive Force Rejected by Jury

A federal jury on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit accusing seven Santa Ana police officers of using excessive force in the 1990 arrest of a man who died three hours after being taken into custody.

Attorneys for the officers said 35-year-old Frankie Taffolla died from respiratory failure following a drug overdose.

Taffolla’s family--his wife, Armida, and their three daughters--alleged that officers handcuffed Taffolla, then beat him repeatedly with a baton and a flashlight before unleashing a police dog to maul him. Taffolla later died at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

During the trial, the family’s attorneys contended Taffolla bled to death as a result of dog bites and other wounds inflicted by police.

Jurors deliberated about six hours before finding for the police officers.

Dr. Richard Fukumoto, a county coroner’s surgeon, testified during trial that Taffolla died from respiratory failure as a result of a drug overdose. An autopsy showed that Taffolla--who was enrolled in a methadone program for his drug addiction--had heroin, cocaine, alcohol and methadone in his system when he died, according to David Lenhardt, a Santa Ana lawyer who represented the officers.

Both sides agreed that Taffolla’s problems with drugs led to his fateful meeting with Santa Ana officers.

It was about midnight on Aug. 16, 1990, when officers were dispatched to St. Andrews Street after residents called 911 to report that a man--later identified as Taffolla--was yelling and jumping around in their backyards. The man, according to witnesses, was crying for help and screaming that someone was going to shoot him.

When officers arrived on the scene, Taffolla continued to act in a bizarre manner and ignored officers’ orders to remain calm, Lenhardt said.

Officers unleashed the police dog, a Belgian malnois named Turbo, to give them sufficient time to restrain Taffolla, Lenhardt said.

But defense attorneys disputed that version. They introduced testimony from a boy who was then 13 years old who said he saw officers beat Taffolla with a baton and a flashlight, handcuff him and kick him, before releasing the dog.

The officers named in the lawsuit were Sgt. James McDaniels, Cpl. Michael Watson and officers Steve Serrano, William Litizio, Colleen Taylor, Thomas Ahearn and Steven Ahearn.

Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna, who monitored the case for the department, said the officers were pleased with the verdict.

“The jury validated what we have contended all along,” said Luna, who headed the canine unit when the incident occurred. “The force the officers used was reasonable, justified and necessary. It was unfortunate that Mr. Taffolla died . . . but it wasn’t a result of our tactics.”

Eva Taffolla, the deceased man’s mother, said the family was disappointed with the outcome.

“I don’t think the verdict was fair,” she said. “I don’t have any faith in the justice system. This shows you can’t beat city hall.”