A Texas man has filed a lawsuit against two police officers who pepper sprayed him for filming their encounter with his son, WFAA reported.
Dylan Puente was driving to his grandmother’s house on Aug. 15 when he was pulled over by cops and issued a ticket for making a wide right turn. After the minor infraction, he rolled his window up, but Sergeant Blake Shimanek alleged the 22-year-old was acting suspiciously, told him to get out of the car and proceeded to arrest him.
Marco Puente — who was driving right behind Dylan — came upon his arrest and began recording the incident from across the street.
He asked why his son was being detained, but only received answers from Dylan who explained, “He got mad because I rolled up my window.”
Shimanek reportedly threatened to apprehend Marco for blocking the street with his truck, so he moved his vehicle while continuing to film the cops’ encounter with his son. Moments later, Shimanek ordered Officer Ankit Tomer to arrest Marco, and he was pepper sprayed and ignored despite his pleas for help. After being left in the back of a patrol car for seven minutes, Dylan’s father was taken to a local jail where he was finally able to wash his face.
Following the August incident, the chief of the Keller Police Department met with Marco to apologize for the officers’ “inappropriate” use of force against him “and to reiterate that Officers Shimanek and Tomer were in the wrong.” Shimanek was also demoted for his role in the incident, while Tomer walked away unscathed as he was only following the former sargeant’s orders.
“Marco is not a criminal. This is a man, a concerned father, and if this can happen to him, it can happen to anyone,” said Marco’s attorney Scott Palmer. “These officers knew better. I believe they were trained better, but why did they not execute better? I don’t know.”