Keller City Council scheduled a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss a controversial police traffic stop and complaints of excessive use of force that resulted in a federal lawsuit.
On August 25, Dillon Puente was driving to his grandmother’s house when police sergeant Keller. Blake Shimanek pulled him and accused him of making an open turn.
The town of Keller released the dashcam and camera video of the body of the incident on Wednesday.
Shimanek can be heard in the video asking Puente why he closed the window and was acting “suspiciously”.
Seconds later, Puente was handcuffed.
That was when Puente’s father, Marco, appeared and started recording the video on his cell phone.
“Hey, take off,” Shimanek told him.
“This is my father,” said Dillon Puente to the officer.
“You are about to be arrested for blocking the road if you don’t park and get out,” Shimanek told Marco Puente.
The video on the camera showed that he was not blocking the road and had stopped at the curb.
Even so, Marco Puente parked on the street and went back to the scene, still recording, and stopped on the sidewalk in front of his son and Shimanek.
The sergeant instructed his reserve officer, Ankit Tomer, to arrest Marco Puente “for blocking the road”.
“This guy is arresting me just for being here,” said Marco Puente as the two policemen threw him on the floor.
Then, the situation got even worse. Tomer sprayed pepper on Puente’s face.
“I’m not doing anything,” said Puente.
The police decided to take Dillon Puente to prison for making a turnaround, and his father for resisting arrest and interfering with the police.
Marco Puente repeatedly complained about the pepper spray, said he couldn’t breathe and asked for medical assistance.
“I’m suffocating with my own snot,” he said. “Clean (my face) with my shirt, please.”
However, more than 15 minutes later, doctors found him at Keller prison and he was helped to clean and rinse his face.
“My reaction is still the same,” Marco Puente said in an interview on Thursday. “I don’t know why I was arrested for standing there filming, only he just didn’t like it.”
Two days after the incident, Puente said Keller’s police chief had apologized, agreed to drop all charges and even reimburse his son’s fine for making a big turnaround.
“He found me, shook my hand and formally apologized,” said Marco Puente.
Chief demoted Sgt. Shimanek to officer.
Marco Puente filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court, naming officers Shimanek and Tomer.
The lawsuit says Shimanek targeted Dillon Puente, 23, because he was a young Latino and falsely believed he had drugs in his car. No drugs were found.
“I don’t believe he should have contact with the public at this time,” said Puente’s lawyer, Scott Palmer. “Maybe an office job to really think about your actions because they have consequences.”
James Roberts, Palmer’s associate, agreed.
“They did nothing to help him after using the pepper spray on him,” said Roberts. “They knew he was in pain. They were able to help him and did nothing.”
The lawyers said the videos of the police themselves are their best evidence.
Keller’s police chief, Brad Fortune, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Mayor Armin Mizani posted a message on the city’s website saying that the police must “work continuously to strengthen” standards and announcing that the city council will hold a special meeting at 6 pm on Tuesday.
“I hope to share more information with residents after this discussion,” said Mizani.