Pueblo police chief, former officer sued for alleged use of excessive force

Editor's note: This story was updated Tuesday afternoon to include a statement from the city of Pueblo noting that Bennie Villanueva is no longer employed by the city.

A woman is suing a now-former Pueblo police officer and the city's chief of police after she claims the officer deployed a Taser on her without reason during an encounter last year.

The officer at the center of the lawsuit, Cpl. Bennie Villanueva, is no longer employed by the Pueblo Police Department, according to a Tuesday statement by the city of Pueblo. City spokesperson Haley Sue Robinson told the Chieftain Villanueva retired from Pueblo PD on Oct. 15, 2023.

The city's statement noted the city does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit, filed by Cristy Gonzales through Mehr Law PLLC in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleges that on Feb. 21, 2022, Villanueva contacted Gonzales on suspicion she was driving a stolen Toyota Tacoma truck.

The truck had just run out of gas as police were trying to stop Gonzales. Gonzales was attempting to push the car backward in an effort to stop it but lacked the strength to do so. Villanueva pulled his patrol car in front of the Tacoma, resulting in a very low-speed collision.

Villanueva then exited his car and ran toward the plaintiff, who was standing in the street complying with another officer's commands not to move, according to the lawsuit. Gonzales did not give any indication that she was armed or about to flee and was not acting aggressively in any manner, the suit claims.

Villanueva drew his Taser as he approached Gonzales. Before Villanueva made contact with her, the other officer took control of her right arm.

Despite Gonzales already complying with the other officer, body camera footage showed Villanueva order her repeatedly to "get on the f------ ground."

Villanueva then allegedly got behind Gonzales, grabbed her left arm, and wrenched it behind her back, while still pointing his Taser at her. While he was holding her left arm, she started to kneel to the ground in compliance with his demands, the lawsuit claims.

While she was lying on her stomach and complying with demands, Villanueva fired his Taser into the small of her back near her spine, body cam footage showed, despite Gonzales offering no resistance.

Gonzales's suit alleges she has continued to experience numbness and difficulty using her right hand since the encounter.

Gonzales was arrested for felony motor vehicle theft and other crimes and later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail, according to the city of Pueblo.

What an internal police investigation found

According to the lawsuit, the deputy district attorney handling Gonzales' subsequent motor vehicle theft case made a complaint to Pueblo PD, asserting her belief that Villanueva used excessive force against Gonzales.

The Pueblo Police Internal Affairs Office also investigated Villanueva for two additional claims he improperly used a Taser on a suspect, with the three incidents taking place within three months of each other, according to the suit. Two of the three incidents were deemed by police to be excessive force.

"As a result of the investigation into the incident, Villanueva was found to have violated numerous policies to include conduct, taser application, and professional workplace conduct," the suit says.

The IA investigation concluded that in Gonzales's case, the "body-worn camera showed the female cooperating with (Villanueva's) verbal commands" when he "appeared to taser her for no apparent reason."

The investigation further found that Villanueva's misuse of a Taser is "very serious" and that his actions were "unacceptable and violate not only our policies and procedures but our values as an organization." However, the lawsuit states that Villanueva was not terminated from his position and decertified as required by state law.

An officer is required to be decertified for a minimum of one year if an IA investigation finds they used excessive force, according to Colorado state law.

Villanueva also allegedly stated numerous times during the IA investigation that he and the rest of Pueblo PD needed more training on the Taser, stating he was unfamiliar with the device.

He allegedly stated during the IA investigation that he had previously been required to conduct a training on use of force with a Taser as discipline for a prior incident in which he discharged his Taser improperly.

However, he stated he never finished the training because a member of Pueblo PD command staff told him he did not have to.

Suit claims excessive force, violation of suspect's rights

The lawsuit makes two main claims in regard to relief for the plaintiff. The first is that Villanueva used excessive force and deprived Gonzales of her rights.

"When Defendant Villanueva tased the plaintiff in the back as she knelt to the ground in compliance with his commands, and did so for 'no apparent reason,' he assaulted the plaintiff, employing excessive and unlawful force, in violation of article II section 7 of the Colorado Constitution," the lawsuit states.

"No officer would consider the defendant's deployment of painful force and excessive aggression upon the plaintiff to have been reasonable or justified under the circumstances. Additionally, the defendant's action was in blatant disregard for his agencies' policies."

The suit further argues that Villanueva violated Gonzales's constitutional rights that forbid unreasonable seizures, including those carried out with excessive force. The suit also states that the use of force caused Gonzales to experience "great physical pain, injury, terror, and exposed her to great risk of death," and caused trauma and emotional distress.

The suit demands that Villanueva be decertified "not only as a sanction for unlawful behavior but also in an effort to protect the community from similar injury."

The second claim in the suit is against Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller for failure to train and discipline Villanueva in the matter.

The suit alleges that while Villanueva was found to have used excessive force against both Gonzales and another individual in a separate incident, Pueblo PD did not discipline Villanueva, and furthermore, falsified their annual certification to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Board, claiming that no officers had been the subject of a disqualifying incident, despite "at least three disqualifying incidents against Villanueva."

Additionally, the suit notes that Pueblo PD's law enforcement academy was censured in 2022 for improper use of force training, which the suit alleges they were made aware of over two years prior.

Between the failure to discipline Villanueva and the sanctions against the academy, the suit alleges it is "painfully clear that PPD was deliberately indifferent to the rights of persons PPD personnel regularly come into contact with, resulting in the unjustifiable use of excessive force."

The suit asks that Pueblo PD "correct its annual certification to the P.O.S.T. Board, and asks that the court enter a declaratory judgment against Pueblo PD, declaring that they provided false information to the P.O.S.T. Board in regards to Villanueva.

Villanueva pleaded guilty to a crime less than two months before Taser incident

The alleged assault that led to the lawsuit also came less than two months after Villanueva pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with the July 2020 injury of Rigoberto Jimenez. Villanueva was originally charged with second-degree assault in the case, although the charge was later downgraded to misdemeanor third-degree assault.

Villanueva was sentenced in December 2021 to six months of court-supervised probation and community service, but on Dec. 27, Colorado Springs-based attorney Alexis Austin submitted an unopposed motion for early termination that was signed by the court the next day.

Austin argued in the motion that Villanueva had already submitted the completion of his community service and had paid all fees associated with his case, had no prior criminal history or any other criminal incidents since the date of the offense.

"Mr. Villanueva would like to get back to work, and with the court-supervised probation, he is unable to as the protection order is still active," Austin wrote in the motion. "His current employment requires him to carry a firearm."

When reached for comment regarding the suit, Pueblo PD stated that they could not comment due to pending litigation.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo PD officer sued for alleged use of excessive force