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Home My WebLink About1909P-1881 UOF Memo_Redacted MEMORANDUM PALM SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT DATE: October 4, 2019 TO: Chief of Police Bryan Reyes (via Chain of Command) FROM: Lieutenant Erik Larson SUBJECT: Administrative Review – Use of Force (carotid/use of force) 1909P-1881 On October 4, 2019, I reviewed an Administrative Review submitted by Sergeant Raso via Blue Team. The review documented a use of force and a carotid control hold use of force incident that occurred on September 9, 2019 involving Officer Colantuono and Officer Aguilera. I reviewed the associated police reports, event record, and evidence photographs. I also reviewed an audio recording of Sergeant Raso’s interview of the suspect, Jonathan Cooper. On September 9, 2019, Officer Colantuono and Officer Aguilera, who were both wearing police uniforms and driving marked police cars, were dispatched to E. Vista Chino regarding a possible domestic violence incident. The officers arrived and contacted the resident, , and his boyfriend, Jonathan Cooper, at the front door. The officers spoke with both parties through the closed security screen door. Despite being in full police uniform, Cooper did not believe that Officer Colantuono was a real police officer and refused to secure an aggressive dog that was walking around the apartment and barking at the officers. In order to avoid a confrontation with the aggressive dog, Officer Colantuono asked both parties to exit the apartment so he could speak with them. exited the residence and began speaking with Officer Aguilera. Cooper then exited the residence and sat down on a patio chair. Officer Colantuono noticed that Cooper was sweating profusely and his right hand was closed and shaking. Officer Colantuono asked Cooper for his full name and date of birth, but Cooper only provided his last name. When asked for his first name, Cooper said, “I don’t know.” Cooper then stood up and stared straight forward. He began to breathe rapidly, tensed his body, and clenched his right fist and jaw. Based on Cooper’s posturing, it appeared to Officer Colantuono that Cooper was becoming agitated and was preparing to fight. Officer Colantuono told Cooper to sit back down in the chair. Cooper did not comply and continued to stand and stare straight ahead. Officer Colantuono again told Cooper to sit down, but Cooper’s behavior did not change. Officer Colantuono told 2/3/2020 Page 2 of 4 2 Cooper to put his hands behind his head and he complied. As he put his hands behind his head, Officer Colantuono noticed Cooper was concealing an object in his right hand. Fearing the object could be a small weapon, Officer Colantuono grabbed Cooper’s right hand and attempted to remove the object. Cooper clinched his fist tighter as Officer Colantuono struggled to remove the object from his hand. Cooper spun his body around and faced Officer Colantuono. Fearing that Cooper was going to strike him, Officer Colantuono let go of Cooper’s right hand and grabbed his upper body in an attempt to control him. With both hands, Cooper pushed Officer Colantuono on his upper torso causing him to stumble backwards away from him. Cooper then turned and ran toward the front door of the residence. To prevent Cooper from fleeing, arming himself, and retrieving his aggressive dog, Officer Colantuono grabbed Cooper by his left arm and tried to pull him bac k away from the front door. Due to Cooper’s size advantage over Officer Colantuono (6’3” tall and over 200 pounds vs. 5’6” tall and 170 pounds), Cooper was able to pull Officer Colantuono closer to him. Officer Aguilera began giving Cooper commands to “s top resisting!” Cooper did not comply and continued to try to pull away from Officer Colantuono toward the front door. Officers Colantuono and Aguilera attempted to take Cooper down to the ground to better control his movements. Cooper resisted by flail ing his arms and pushing the officers causing them to collide into each other and fall into the security screen door and patio furniture. Cooper then fell down and was lying face down on the concrete patio. As the officers were on top of Cooper trying to gain control of him, Cooper attempted to push himself up off the ground and grabbed at Officer Colantuono’s hands, uniform, and duty belt. Officer Aguilera grabbed Cooper’s left arm and pulled it upward causing him to lose his grip on Officer Colantuono’s duty belt. Due to Cooper’s violent resistance, Officer Aguilera delivered 4 to 5 knee strikes to the left side of Cooper’s torso. Cooper rotated his body away from Officer Aguilera and laid his chest down onto the concrete patio. Officer Aguilera still hand control of Cooper’s left arm and attempted to put it behind his back in order to handcuff him. Cooper continued to resist arrest by attempting to pull his arm out of Officer Aguilera’s grasp. Based on Cooper’s violent resistance despite numerous use of force options deployed by the officers, Officer Colantuono decided to apply the carotid control hold. While on the ground, Officer Colantuono applied the carotid control hold rendering Cooper unconscious. Officer Aguilera was then able to place Cooper into handcuffs. Cooper regained consciousness after a few seconds and began striking his head on the concrete. Cooper then kicked his legs at the officers, tried to roll over onto his back, and continuously tried to grab Officer Colantuono’s hands an d duty belt. 2/3/2020 Page 3 of 4 3 Sergeant Raso responded to scene and was notified of the use of force. The Palm Springs Fire Department and AMR paramedics arrived on scene, were notified that the carotid control hold was used, and assessed Cooper. Cooper was transported to the Desert Regional Medical Center (DRMC) for medical treatment and an okay to book. During Sergeant Raso’s interview, Cooper said fought the officers because he did not believe that they were real police officers. Cooper then said that he did not believe that Sergeant Raso was a real police officer because put a hex on him. Officer Valdivia interviewed who stated that he called 911 because Cooper was acting strange and he wanted him to leave. When the officers arrived, he and Cooper walked outside to speak with them. said that the officers were trying to be nice to Cooper, but Cooper was confrontational and became combative. said that Cooper did not believe that the officers were real police officers. When an officer told Cooper to place his hands on his head, Cooper turned around and pushed the officer. said he became scared and walked away. Even though he did not see the rest of the confrontation, said he could hear the officers yell, “Stop resisting!” several times. Officer Colantuono suffered redness and an abrasion to his nose and an abrasion above his right eye. Cooper sustained redness to his neck and abrasions on both knees as a result of the officers’ use of force. Cooper also sus tained a large contusion to his forehead and redness to the left side of his face and chin as a result of banging his head on the ground after the arrest. Cooper was arrested and charged with 69 PC and transported to the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. I checked the Riverside County Superior Court website and found that the DA’s Office filed charges against Cooper for 69 PC. Based on the totality of the circumstances, the suspect’s failure to obey the officers’ commands, the suspect physically resisting arrest, and the suspect’s physically assaulting the officers by pushing Officer Colantuono on the upper torso causing him to stumble backwards, it is in my opinion that the force used during this incident was reasonably necessary and justified. I believe that Officer Aguilera and Officer Colantuono were within department policy as stated in Use of Force sections 300.3, 300.3.1, 300.3.2, and 300.3.3. I also believe that Officer Colantuono was within department policy as stated in Use of Force/Carotid Control Hold section 300.3.4 of our department Lexipol manual. 2/3/2020 Page 4 of 4 4 Respectfully Submitted, Erik Larson Erik Larson Lieutenant – Patrol Operations