Viral video shows Cathedral City police officer hitting suspect with baton

A video showing a Cathedral City police officer hitting a suspect with a baton during an arrest is going viral on social media, two years after it happened.

The video, first posted on Reddit, starts by showing two officers with weapons pointed at a suspect, who is in his car with hands raised. A third officer comes into frame on the other side of the car. The first two officers pull the suspect out of his car and shove him to the ground, then the third officer jumps over the front of the car to reach the suspect and starts striking him repeatedly with what appears to be a baton.

City Manager Charlie McClendon released a statement Monday, stating the incident was investigated by the police department’s internal affairs division and that the use of force was reported to the California Department of Justice in February 2021 “as required by Senate Bill 1421.”

SB1421 is a California law that requires law enforcement agencies to report and release records pertaining to certain instances of police use of force, dishonesty or sexual harassment. McClendon's statement referred to the officer who used force as a "former" officer, but the city would not say when he left or why. City spokesperson Ryan Hunt identified him as Jeffrey Aguirre.

"While a fractured ankle may not rise to the level of great bodily injury, the police department took proactive measures to report the incident to the Department of Justice in February 2021," Hunt said on Tuesday. "The injury the suspect sustained as a result of the incident, may or may not have been sustained as a result of the use of force."

The Desert Sun obtained a summary of the incident when inquiring about such records as a normal practice. In December 2020, Cathedral City police Sgt. Jon Enos reported that a confrontation happened at the conclusion of a pursuit around 3:15 a.m. on Nov. 21, 2020. It happened at San Antonio and San Jose drives in Cathedral City.

Police had tried to pull over a car for traffic violations when the driver fled and police pursued, Hunt said Tuesday. He said the pursuit ended when the suspect rammed his car into a patrol car intentionally. Enos said the suspect, Jose Lenor Garcia, was injured and taken to the hospital for treatment.

Enos said Garcia was "injured while he was being taken into custody by officers," and described Aguirre's actions as "non-lethal." He said Garcia was arrested and posted bail.

Garcia was charged May 23, 2022, with evading arrest and assault on a police officer in relation to the 2020 incident. An arrest warrant was issued in June, but it remains outstanding, court records show.

The second half of the Reddit video shows the same incident, but from what appears to be the perspective of officers' body-worn cameras.

Claude Murzea, a former Cathedral City police officer, said he obtained the video on Nov. 23, 2022, through a public-records request sent a month earlier and it was posted on his brother's Reddit account. Murzea said he was terminated from the department in July, but is fighting the city for medical retirement and that an appeal will be heard in February.

The former officer said he reported the use of force incident three days after it occurred, when it was made clear to him from a younger officer who had the video on his cell phone. But he said nothing came of it and Garcia, the suspect, did not come forward.

"I looked at the video and, like everyone else in this country, when I saw that video I knew that was illegal," Murzea said.

Cathedral City said "the use of force was reported immediately to a commander as per department policy on Nov. 21, 2020."

The investigation was closed on Oct. 10, 2022. In the statement Monday, McClendon said he could not discuss details of the investigation due to it being a personnel matter. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit is also reviewing the incident, he added.

“The city takes all use of force incidents very seriously and each one is investigated immediately by internal affairs and other state agencies as required by law,” McClendon said. “We are always proactive in these cases and public safety continues to be a top priority for our city council to ensure a high quality of life for our residents.”

Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com. Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Viral video shows Cathedral City police officer hitting suspect with baton