City of Brawley reaches $1-million settlement in suit alleging officer raped DUI suspect

For the record:
8:45 p.m. April 5, 2023: An earlier version of this article said the the plaintiff was pulled over while driving. She was contacted at her home.

The city of Brawley, Calif., agreed to pay a $1-million settlement to a woman who accused a city police officer of rape after he arrested her on suspicion of driving under the influence, her attorneys announced Wednesday.

Former Brawley Police Officer Ricardo Gabriel Valdez drove the woman back to her home in a patrol car, where she allegedly woke up to the officer having sex with her, according to a lawsuit she filed. Valdez left the DUI citation on her bedside when he left, according to the woman's complaint.

"This horrible incident has changed my life, and I am glad I can begin to put it behind me," the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, said in a statement provided by her attorneys. "I am discouraged and upset that a police officer took advantage of his badge."

In the lawsuit, filed on Jan. 21, 2021, attorneys for the woman called the officer's actions "brazen, malicious, sadistic, offensive to human dignity and cruel."

Michael Gibbs, one of the attorneys retained by the city in the suit, said the settlement was reached "to avoid the uncertainty and expense of a jury trial," but the city did not admit liability in the agreement.

The woman was contacted by Valdez on June 21, 2020, at her home after police received a call about a driver backing into the frontyard and tree of a home. According to Valdez's report of the incident, obtained by The Times, the officer knocked on her front door, and the woman was so intoxicated at the time she had trouble standing on her own or answering basic questions from police.

Jane Doe "did not answer and did not know what happened," Valdez wrote in the report. "It should be noted, [Jane Doe] was unable to keep her balance and kept swaying."

Brawley, a city with more than 26,000 residents, is about 30 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in Imperial County.

According to the complaint, Valdez handcuffed her, put her in his patrol car and "took her into custody for several hours during which time Officer Valdez drove Plaintiff in and around the City of Brawley."

Valdez took the woman to a hospital to get her blood drawn for an alcohol level test, then drove her back to her home, where she was raped, according to the complaint.

Attorneys for the woman alleged Valdez was wearing his uniform and badge and carried his service weapon into the home, using his authority as a police officer during the incident.

In court documents, city officials disputed the allegation that Valdez used his role as a law enforcement officer, stating that according to the woman's account, she was unconscious during the alleged attack.

"Taking advantage of a victim's incapacity or unconsciousness is not the same as misusing coercive law enforcement authority to accomplish rape," according to a brief filed by attorneys for the city.

"Her level of intoxication was so high that, whatever happened, which was not clear because there were a number of inconsistencies, she didn't respond to him," Gibbs said.

Valdez's sperm was found in the woman's home, according to the suit. According to court records, Valdez admitted to having sex with the woman but claimed it had been consensual.

Valdez was charged by the Imperial County district attorney on July 7, 2020, with multiple felony counts, including assault by a public officer, sexual battery, rape of an unconscious victim and burglary.

According to court records, the charges were dismissed on July 30, 2021. Court records don't explain why the charges were dismissed, but a local newspaper covering the hearing cited Deputy Dist. Atty. Danuta Tuszynska, who told a judge that prosecutors had found "exculpatory information" that "question gravely the credibility of the complaining witness."

Gibbs said the city acted immediately after the woman made her allegations, including placing Valdez on administrative leave.

Attorneys representing Valdez did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement provided by her attorneys, the woman said she was relieved the case was settled.

"This has been horrific in many ways," the statement read. "No amount of settlement can change what I have had to endure these past few years."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.