A teenage girl who was tackled violently to the ground by a Chula Vista police officer disputed the department’s account of what happened the afternoon of Aug. 15 at a local park adjacent to Castle Park High School.
A portion of the incident was captured on video and shared via social media.
Police said they have increased patrols near SDG&E Park because of reports of gang activity. One officer drove by and reported that in passing he saw a teenage boy throw a gang sign.
Police cofronted a group of juveniles. One of them, a sophomore at Palomar High School, threw an empty water bottle. In the video a police officer can be seen with his baton raised and in front of him as he tackles the girl to the ground.
She and three other teens were arrested.
During a media briefing at SDG&E Park Aug. 17, in the vicinity where the incident occurred, Liz Borja read a prepared statement that demanded all criminal charges against her and the other juvenilles be dropped. She also callled for the officer to be placed on administrative leave until a full investigation is conducted of “his horrible behavior” and wants a community solution to issues that arise in the park.
“We’re not gang members, we’re not drug dealers,” said Liz, who only wanted her first name used. “We did not merit the level of aggression towards us.”
Liz also showed injuries she said were sustained from the Chula Vista officer’s use of force.
She had bruises on both wrists, marks on her knees and said she had a knot on her the back of her neck from when the officer hit her “once or twice” with his baton.
Liz’s injuries show a different aspect from what Chula Vista Police stated in their own news conference hours before the girl gave hers.
PoliceCapt. Vern Sallee had stated that the teenager did not sustain injuries or complain of pain while she was detained in the police station.
Another point of contention is what actually happened.
Sallee said the 16-year-old faces criminal charges for battery on a peace officer after the girl allegedly threw a plastic water bottle at a female officer, hitting the sergeant in the chest.
Immediately after a male police officer in the canine unit tackled the girl to the ground.
But Liz denies ever throwing the bottle at any officer.
“I didn’t throw it directly at her,” she said. “It was an empty bottle, I threw the bottle at the floor and it bounced off to the (male) police officer and hit his leg, that’s when he attacked me.”
Sallee said the department started reviewing the incident and the use of force immediately after the incident occured.
Sallee said the department has launched an administrative investigation, but he said an investigation can ”take a long time.”
He said they are reviewing all of the police reports and footage from all of the officers’ body worn cameras.
“What we can ensure the public is that we understand the public concern, the outrage in some parts of the community about what appeared on this part of video (where the officer tackled the teenage girl) ,” he said. “It does not make the totality of the circumstances that the officers’ face. However, we will thoroughly investigate this and hold officers accountable if they violated any type of policy.”
Sallee said the officer who used force on the 16-year-old girl has been transferred to a desk job without patrol duties.
Sallee said officers have noticed an uptick in gang graffiti in SDG&E park, as a northwest Chula Vista gang has marked their gang initials at that park, the territory of a rival gang.
Because of this, Sallee said there have been more of a police presence near that park.
Salle said as an officer drove by a teenager held up a hang gesture that appeared to be a gang sign. Sallee said that initiated the initial contact with the teens and more officers arrived at the scene. He said the whole ordeal lasted about 20minutes with teenagers being uncooperative with police.
“It became a very tense situation,” Sallee said.
Liz said a gang sign was never thrown up, instead they threw up the “deuces,” a hand gesture that involves holding the peace sign fingers sideways.
We have to protect the kids. Police officers should be tackling men from behind instead of women