A Palo Alto police officer who slammed a man into a car windshield during a 2018 arrest at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park pleaded guilty to the assault on Nov. 21, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.
Wayne Benitez, who retired as police sergeant shortly after the 2018 incident, will avoid prison time as part of the plea deal. He will have to do 750 hours of community service, take anger management courses and undergo LGBTQ sensitivity training, according to the District Attorney.
Benitez was among the officers who confronted Gustavo Alvarez at his home in the El Camino mobile home park on Feb. 18, 2018. After officers repeatedly instructed him to come out of the house, one of them kicked the door. When Alvarez came out, Benitez and two other officers grabbed him, pinned him on the hood of his car and cuffed his hands. Benitez then slammed him against the windshield and asked him, "You think you're a tough guy?"
When Alvarez complained that he was bleeding, Benitez responded, "You're going to be bleeding a whole lot more."
Minutes later, Benitez appeared to be making fun of Alvarez for being gay by saying, "Come and get me!" in a flamboyant tone, according to footage captured by Alvarez' surveillance camera and later released by his attorney.
The District Attorney's Public and Law Enforcement Integrity Team, which handled the investigation, also concluded that Benitez falsified the police report by writing that no force was used during the arrest.
Alvarez was charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license and resisting arrest, among other charges. The charges were later dismissed by the District Attorney's Office.
Alvarez also sued the city, which resulted in the City Council approving a $572,500 settlement in 2019.
"When someone with a badge breaks the law, it cracks the confidence that people have in law enforcement," Rosen said in a statement. "That is not just unfortunate. It is unacceptable. No one is above the law."
Comments
Registered user
Downtown North
on Nov 21, 2023 at 11:42 pm
Registered user
on Nov 21, 2023 at 11:42 pm
There is no mention here whether Wayne (The Fuse) Benitz, was allowed to keep or not keep his nearly $10,000 a month retirement. His retirement could and should have been ended with this guilty plea. He was allowed to resign before a decision was made on the PAPD's investigation of his case which allowed him to retain his right to retirement. Thank goodness D.A. Rosen was eventually pressured into criminally charging Benitz.
Gennady - can you check the status of his retirment?
This guy was a Sargeant and as such, trained and was a model for newer officers. He not only beat Alvarez's head bloody, knocking out a tooth while he was cuffed and unresisting, he then out-and-out lied about this use of excessive force by not reporting it as required. Other officers who witnessed the excessive force neither intervened nor reported it as required.
This resulted in a year-and-a-half long coverup by the PAPD in which then Police Chief Bob Jonsen maintained even he knew nothing about it. Council and the public sure didn't know until a video was blasted over Bay Area TV stations, smearing Palo Alto's reputation, and a federal civil rights lawsuit was successfully settled.
All and all, he seems to be getting off lightly given his brutatlity which is a shame. Good riddence to Benitz. Our City is a better place without him. He ignored our laws and Constitution, and the PAPD's own policies, which If they don't apply to all of us, they apply to none of us.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Nov 22, 2023 at 7:57 am
Registered user
on Nov 22, 2023 at 7:57 am
@Comment above is absolutely right about Benitez aka "The Fuse" being allowed to keep his pension. As reported elsewhere, this is because his crimes were classified as misdemeanors!
How often did our fair city officials refuse to answer questions about whether he was allowed to resign and/or whether he was going to get to collect his pension? WAY too many.
At the very least he and those who decided WE should pay him that should at least claw back the damages that we had to pay for his misconduct and the city soft-pedaling his crimes.
Registered user
Professorville
on Nov 22, 2023 at 10:23 am
Registered user
on Nov 22, 2023 at 10:23 am
He should be sued for the $572,500 plus interest that the City of Palo Alto had to pay. This could be done by taking his retirement pay until paid off.
It is sad that he did not go to jail for his bad behavior, but what is done is done.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Nov 22, 2023 at 1:56 pm
Registered user
on Nov 22, 2023 at 1:56 pm
It took 5 years to come to this conclusion?! Glad he is not serving time. No one wants to be a policeman, it’s so dangerous. We should be grateful for them keeping us safe. The man was resisting arrest, that always turns up the heat. Think how upsetting it is when someone isn’t listening to you. To the critics, don’t call the police when you need them if you think you can do a better job.
Registered user
another community
on Nov 22, 2023 at 5:35 pm
Registered user
on Nov 22, 2023 at 5:35 pm
If you're resisting arrest, you have no one to blame but yourself. Quit committing crimes and quit resisting arrest. Problem solved.
Registered user
Palo Verde
on Nov 23, 2023 at 10:33 am
Registered user
on Nov 23, 2023 at 10:33 am
Under the 8-cant-wait reforms, Palo Alto police officers have a duty to intervene to protect citizens who are being subjected to police brutality. I'm still waiting to find out how that policy was applied to the two cops found a sleeping man and let their K-9 chew on him for (IIRC) two minutes.
Very glad to see accountability in the Alvarez case.
Registered user
another community
on Nov 23, 2023 at 6:21 pm
Registered user
on Nov 23, 2023 at 6:21 pm
So having a suspended license warrants a violent arrest? The resisting arrest charges were dropped because that's what happens when you're a cop and you think nobody will ever see this, only to find out there's video of you beating the snot out of someone who was driving with a suspended license -- you drop the charges unless you want a civil rights lawsuit to cost the city 5 million instead of 500k. Justice is not just slow here, it's absolutely stagnant.