Posted on 04/27/2005 4:22:48 AM PDT by tuffydoodle
Officer accepts penalty, keeps job
By Deanna Boyd
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH - A Fort Worth police officer has been suspended without pay for 16 days on accusations that he illegally entered and searched an apartment and then violated department policy by using a Taser gun on a man who later died.
Officer P.R. Genualdo had faced termination had he refused the 16-day suspension, which went into effect April 14, according to civil-service documents released Tuesday by the city.
Police had begun a routine administrative investigation into Genualdo's actions after the Nov. 2 in-custody death of Robert Guerrero, 21.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled that Guerrero's death was caused by acute cocaine intoxication and that the Taser did not contribute to his death.
Genualdo's attorney, Craig Driskell, with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, said Genualdo is a good officer who was the class president at the police academy and graduated with honors. He has never had a sustained complaint in his six years with the department, Driskell said.
"I think the chief, after talking to him, saw the value of this officer," Driskell said. "He is really an outstanding officer. A couple of things went bad here. The chief did not find him at fault for [Guerrero's] death. Some procedural things weren't done according to policy, and Genualdo took responsibility for that."
According to the civil-service documents, Genualdo had gone to the North View Apartments in the 2400 block of Clinton Avenue on a report that someone was stealing electricity. The apartment manager told the officer that a resident had seen a man tampering with the electrical meter box and that the man was in apartment M.
The door to apartment M swung open as Genualdo, accompanied by officers E. Tamayo and M.E. Macy, knocked. The officers began talking to a mother and son inside the apartment from the doorway, then entered the apartment without consent, the documents state.
When told someone was involved in tampering with an electrical meter box downstairs, the documents state, the son pointed at a closet and stated, "He's in the closet."
Genualdo and Tamayo then walked to the hallway and conducted an illegal search inside the apartment, according to the documents. They found Guerrero hiding in the closet under a large black trash bag.
The documents state that Genualdo ordered the man to exit the closet, but Guerrero refused. Genualdo then deployed his Taser, striking Guerrero in the midsection with both probes as Guerrero raised his hands, the documents state.
A review of the Taser found that Genualdo shocked Guerrero four times -- the first time for a duration of 10 seconds. Fort Worth policy stipulates that Tasers should only be used for five seconds per deployment.
After being hit with the Taser for the fourth time, the documents state, Guerrero slumped forward and was removed from the closet by Tamayo.
Guerrero was then handcuffed and carried downstairs, where officers noticed that he was not breathing. Genualdo and another officer performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Guerrero until paramedics arrived and took the man to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
"During this administrative investigation it was determined that at the time of the Taser deployment, officer Genualdo did not have probable cause to arrest Mr. Guerrero," the documents state. "Consequently officers Genualdo and Tamayo made an illegal arrest on Mr. Guerrero for evading arrest/detention when they pulled him out from the closet."
Department policy states that officers should restrict use of a Taser to situations where the officer has probable cause to arrest someone and there is a reasonably defined risk or disadvantage in engaging the suspect.
The report also notes that under general orders, officers investigating theft of public utilities should make an incident report but not attempt to investigate, search or make an arrest.
Driskell said that because police respond to so few theft-of-utility offenses, Genualdo was not familiar with the general order.
"He meant well by investigating it because it is a crime," Driskell said.
Tamayo received a three-day suspension, city officials said.
Lt. Dean Sullivan, police spokesman, said the case will be reviewed by the Tarrant County district attorney's office and a grand jury, which is routine.
what have you been smoking?? 1st: they had no business going into the apartment...you walk around and find a door ajar and walk on in..see what happens to you....the kid pointed to the closet not the mom...\
doesn't matter...mr. hero was not well versed in dept policy and should be sued privately into oblivion and the dept should be as well for turning lil shaved head nazi's loose on the public.
Most of these little punk deputies make less than 8.00 an hr...if they want to abuse the public for slightly more than minimum wage, they should take a job at the return counter at wal-mart
Elian Gonzalez was hiding in a closet...
The problem with this excessive use of the taser that is going on is that it effects the electrical chemistry of the body, and they don't really know for sure what it is that causes the death, only that the deaths have been taking place immediately after the use of a taser.
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