by ANDY PIERROTTI
AUSTIN -- A former Austin
police officer is named in a federal lawsuit for failing to stop state troopers
from making a false arrest. The KVUE Defenders uncovered why this isn’t the
first time the officer has been accused of mishandling a case.
Rey Muniz has a difficult time
trusting law enforcement. In a recently filed federal lawsuit, the Austin man
claims May 2012 dashboard camera video shows a state trooper assaulting and
falsely arresting him in a parking for not providing his ID.
“When an officer asks for your
ID, you give it to him,” says DPS Trooper Chancy Davis in the video.
“Am I under arrest?" Muniz
later asks in the video.
"You’re being detained,”
says Davis.
You can't see it in the video,
but you can hear Muniz asking Davis to stop touching him.
Claiming that he felt he
threatened, Muniz calls 911 and reports the incident.
A few minutes later, Austin
Police Officer Timothy Little responds. When Muniz gets off the phone, he walks
towards him, but Little signals him to stop and speaks with DPS troopers first.
"He should have came to me
and talk to me. I’m the one who called 911," said Muniz.
"He arguably conspired
with the other officers that were on site to get that story straight,"
said Jeff Kelly, Muniz’s attorney. "If he had gone directly to speak with
Mr. Muniz, he would realize that he was being assaulted by the officers."
Troopers eventually arrested
Muniz for failing to provide his ID and resisting arrest. Up to that point,
Muniz had a clean record. The district attorney's office later dropped all
charges.
So, what about Muniz’s claims
DPS troopers assaulted him? While Little responded, the KVUE Defenders found he
did not file a report on Muniz’s claims as a department policy clearly states
should happen when reporting on citizen complaints.
Austin police say Little
resigned more than a year after the Muniz's 911 call. APD says it's against the
law to comment on the circumstances of his resignation.
This isn’t the first time
Little has been accused of mishandling a 911 call. In March 2004, he responded
to a 911 call from an Austin apartment.
According to an internal
affairs investigation, when the door opened he recognized the man as “a police
academy classmate.” The fellow officer told him he got into a fight with his
girlfriend.
Instead of reporting it, Little
told dispatch, “All quiet inside. No answer.”
The department suspended him
for covering up for another officer’s conduct.
While Little is no longer with
APD, the department remains liable for his action.
The KVUE Defenders wanted to
know whether Austin Police Chief Art Acevado believes Little acted
appropriately and if this is a broader problem that needs to be addressed in
the department.
APD says the chief cannot
discuss pending litigation or former employees.
In addition to the federal
lawsuit, Muniz filed a complaint with the Travis County District Attorney's
Office. It confirms it's investigating Muniz's complaint.
