Waterford CT. April 6 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
www.privateofficer.com
There seems to be some question as to whether or not local police used too much force in arresting a shoplifter at a local Sears on Wednesday. Two people who said they had witnessed the arrest say that there was.
Police were notified by Sears loss prevention team that they were attempting to detain a shoplifter, later identified as Jose Molina-Montalvo and that he was struggling with them.
Waterford Chief of Police Murray Pendleton on Thursday defended tactics used by police in the arrest.Based on Lt. Brett Mahoney’s report of the incident, Mahoney arrived on the scene, Pendleton said, the man had smashed the case and started to run. Pendleton said Mahoney chased the man through several departments of the store..
At that point, Pendleton said, Officer John Bunce arrived on the scene and attempted to use a Taser to subdue the man. Pendleton said the Taser’s batteries were not properly charged and the gun misfired. At that point, officers on the scene reported that the man refused to be handcuffed and continued resisting officers. In their report, Pendleton said, the officers said that because the Taser didn’t work, they then used their "closed fists" to bring the man under control.
Police charged Jose Molina-Montalvo, 19, of New London with fifth-degree larceny, third-degree criminal mischief, interfering with a police officer and possession of a shoplifting device.Witnesses to the arrest notified the local newspaper of the incident saying that in their opinion the police overdid it and used too much force to subdue the man and the newspaper contacted Molina-Montalvo, at his home, and he admitted to stealing a digital camera from the store but said Waterford police went too far in the arrest, shoving him to the ground outside the store and repeatedly kicking and punching him in the head and chest.
Molina-Montalvo said that as he walked out of the store and headed for the exit he noticed a police officer. He tried to retreat and ran for a few feet but realized he had nowhere to go, he said."I saw a cop point something yellow at me," Molina-Montalvo said. "I think it was a Taser. I tried to put my arms up and head for the ground. That’s when one cop pushed me to the ground. I think he even used the Taser. I don’t know how we ended up outside, but one cop is on me, one kicked me and someone kept punching my face.""I know what I did was wrong," said Molina-Montalvo, but "the way they handled the situation was wrong. They were beating me up like I really did something bad." Montalvo sustained minor scratches and bruising during his arrest.Pendleton said the officers acted appropriately in a situation in which a man was actively resisting arrest.
Molina-Montalvo has other criminal cases pending against him. In February, New London police arrested him when a friend he was with dropped a bag containing a .22-caliber rifle and a pellet rifle, police said. Molina-Montalvo was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon and interfering with police.The local newspaper The Day, said about a dozen people witnessed the incident, some taking photos with their cell phones.
PrivateOfficer.com and The National Association of Private Officers tried to contact Montalvo but found no listed phone number for himWe did however talk with Anthony Bianco, a regional loss prevention manager for a major retailer and a retired police officer from Florida. We asked him in his current or previous duties if force was ever necessary in the arrest of a suspect and just how much force should be used. He pointed out that the officers were met with a fleeing suspect who after being physically detained still put up a fight to the point that the officers tried to deploy their taser gun which would have been reasonaable force under the circumstances. When the Taser malfunctioned, the officers continued to use force by punching Montalvo to bring him into submission so that he could be handcuffed. To the public, seeing four or five cops piled up on one person especially using physical force may have seemed a bit too much but in reality it was the level of force required to bring the suspect under control. If he had complied with their demands to be handcuffed the shoppers would have just seen a routine arrest and officers escorting a prisoner out the door to their waiting police cruisers.The public needs to realize that it’s not always as bad as it looks Bianco said. What if he had gotten away from the officers and pulled a knife or a gun and taken one of the shoppers hostage or worse, shot them.
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