By Police1 Staff
ALBUQUERQUE – A New Mexico man claims he was arrested after an officer had a run-in with his lapdog.
Police responded to a call in April last year from the grandmother of Daniel Martinez, who said the 25-year-old was trying to abuse drugs, KQRE reported.
Officer Nicholas Levine -- along with emergency response personnel and other officers -- then arrived at the scene, and Martinez says dash cam footage shows the reason he was arrested.
Levine is heard saying in the video, “I felt something pinch me and I turned around and I saw the dog, so I kicked at it.”
There was never any basis to believe Martinez was violent, attorney Derek Garcia told KQRE. He said the incident with the dog likely triggered Martinez’s arrest, and the footage was used against the officer in a federal lawsuit disputing the arrest.
“He decides to retaliate against Daniel by arresting him, even though he knew there was no basis for any kind of criminal charges against him,” Garcia said.
The state will pay Martinez more than $20,000 for his overnight stay in prison and the five months it took to clear his name. An attorney for the state said the payout is not an admission of any wrongdoing by the police officer.
When questioned about his grandmother’s drug accusation, Martinez told police he was holding a bottle of aspirin in his hand because he planned to take a pill to treat a headache.