The Austin American-Statesman
Taylor, Texas police have reprimanded an officer after he was videotaped while hitting a suspect with a flashlight and using other excessive force in making an arrest. The patrol car video, obtained by the Austin American-Statesman Tuesday through the Texas Open Records Act, also shows Taylor Officer Pedro Gutierrez attempting to push the man from a truck with his feet.
The suspect, James Blair, remained in Williamson County Jail after his arrest on charges of driving while intoxicated and evading arrest.
The Taylor Police Department gave Gutierrez a written reprimand and ordered him to attend use-of-force training after the Jan. 29 confrontation with Blair, 35. He suffered a swollen right eye in the beating.
John Holland, Blair’s lawyer, said he hasn’t seen the patrol car video. A Taylor officer had tried to pull Blair over after Blair’s mother told police that he had been drinking, was upset about a family issue and had driven off in her pickup. Blair led an officer on a 70-mph chase through Taylor before the pickup changed direction and slammed into the patrol car.
The videotape showed Gutierrez and two other officers trying to remove Blair from the truck and Gutierrez then striking Blair with the flashlight a few times in the chest.
In a written statement, Gutierrez said he tried grabbing Blair by the hair and slapping him. He used pepper spray to subdue Blair and tried pushing him toward the truck door with his feet, and Blair’s face hit a window, according to the video.
“What (Gutierrez) did was really ineffective. It was excessive, but it didn’t work,” said Capt. David Clawson. “The techniques he used put him in danger because they didn’t work.”