The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Two men involved in the San Francisco Police scandal known as “fajitagate,” have filed civil suits against the officers they say beat them outside a bar last November.
In their state suit, Jade Santoro and Adam Snyder are seeking damages from Officers David Lee and Matthew Tonsing and former Officer Alex Fagan Jr., son of the police chief.
In a federal suit, the men accused Chief Alex Fagan Sr., former Chief Earl Sanders and Deputy Chief David Robinson of engaging in a coverup and thus violating their constitutional rights to due process and a fair hearing before the courts.
Also named in the lawsuit were Capt. Greg Corrales, supervisor of two of the officers, and Sgt. John Syme, the supervisor on duty that night, who approached Tonsing, Lee and Fagan Jr. after Snyder and Santoro saw their pickup truck cruise past the scene.
Matt Dorsey, spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera, said that although his office had not seen the federal suit, he expected that the city would prevail.
“When this was initially filed as a claim, our initial conclusion was there was no liability on the part of the city,” he said. “We expect that conclusion to be reached in federal court as well.”
The federal suit rehashes many of the charges that led to the command staff’s indictment in February for allegedly conspiring to obstruct the investigation, indictments that were dropped or dismissed within little more than a month for lack of evidence.
Fagan, Tonsing and Lee also face criminal assault charges in the late-night fight over a bag of steak fajitas.