by Ruben Castaneda, The Washington Post
Two Prince George’s County police officers were indicted yesterday on charges they used a dog and baton to assault an unarmed man as he tried to surrender to them after allegedly breaking into a Chillum gas station.
A county grand jury charged that Cpl. James C. Partenza beat Hector Millan, 27, with his baton after Millan raised his hands in surrender, according to Prince George’s State’s Attorney Jack B. Johnson. Cpl. Mark Elie was charged with twice allowing his dog to attack Millan after he fell to the floor, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement yesterday.
Johnson and federal authorities began investigating the Jan. 20 incident a month ago. The probes were begun after Cpl. Joseph Diaz, who witnessed the encounter, told supervisors that Partenza and Elie were not justified in their use of force.
Partenza and Elie were charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. First-degree assault, a felony, carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Acting Police Chief Gerald M. Wilson suspended Partenza and Elie with pay yesterday pending an administrative hearing scheduled for Monday.
Diaz and Partenza were both assigned to the 1st District in Hyattsville. Sources have said Diaz has been harassed for making the allegations against fellow officers.
Wilson said he attended a 1st District roll call about three weeks ago.
“I told the officers that Diaz had a duty to report [misconduct]. I told them it was the leadership of the police department, not Corporal Diaz, who took the information to the state’s attorney’s office,” Wilson said. “I told them I support the truth, and I said we will be professional.”
Attorneys for Partenza and Elie said that their clients did nothing wrong and that Johnson denied the officers an opportunity to testify before the grand jury.
“I’m disappointed but not surprised, particularly given the fact the state’s attorney’s office was not interested in hearing the entire story,” said William C. Brennan, the attorney for Partenza.
“Unfortunately, the grand jury did not have the opportunity to hear from the officers who actually arrested Mr. Millan,” said Timothy F. Maloney, Elie’s attorney.
A statement released by Johnson gave the following description of the incident.
Sometime after midnight Jan. 20, Millan walked to a gas station in the 5800 block of Riggs Road in Chillum and asked the attendant, Romellito Macabantad, to let him in. When Macabantad refused, Millan entered the garage through a panel in the garage door, and the attendant called police.
When Diaz and Partenza ordered Millan to come out of the garage and he did not respond, they summoned a canine officer to the scene. Elie arrived with his dog, and the three officers entered the garage.
Millan raised his hands and surrendered, at which point Partenza hit Millan with his police baton, the statement said. Millan fell to the ground, and Elie released his police dog, which bit Millan on the arms while Partenza continued to hit him.
Diaz ordered Elie to remove the dog, and Elie complied. Then Elie released the dog again while Millan lay on the floor with his arms extended; Diaz intervened, and Elie took the dog off again.
Millan originally was charged with second-degree burglary, fourth-degree burglary, resisting arrest and second-degree assault. Johnson dropped the charge of second-degree burglary, a felony, two weeks ago. Millan is scheduled to go on trial on the remaining charges Monday.
The indictments are the latest in a series of criminal charges brought against county police officers. Since September 2000, four county police officers have been charged with committing crimes while in uniform and acting in the line of duty.
In August, a federal jury in Greenbelt convicted Stephanie C. Mohr, 31, of violating the civil rights of an unarmed homeless man by releasing her police dog on him after he had surrendered to officers. In December, a federal judge sentenced Mohr to the maximum 10 years in prison. She is free pending her appeal.
In February 2001, a Circuit Court judge acquitted Officer Brian C. Catlett of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a college student outside a Lanham Hills fire station in November 1999.
The FBI and a federal grand jury also are investigating the incident involving Millan. That investigation will continue, an FBI spokesman said yesterday.
In addition, a federal grand jury is investigating a 1997 incident in which Freddie McCollum Jr. lost an eye and partial use of a hand after, according to testimony in a civil case, McCollum was severely beaten by county officers and bitten by a county police dog.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the county police department’s canine unit has engaged in a pattern of brutality.