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A father has put local authorities in Washington on notice that he plans to sue after he was viciously beaten by a cop during an arrest last month — an incident that left him concussed and with a brain injury, new legal papers show.
Mauro Alberto Felix Valles, 33, filed a notice of claim, a legal precursor to suing a government entity, against the City of Auburn for his viral arrest on Oct. 28, when Police Officer Andrew Bryant allegedly tasered and punched him over 20 times, the claim shows.
The Auburn Police Department released Bryant’s bodycam footage of the incident, which showed him getting out of his police cruiser and yelling, “Hey! You’re under arrest. Get on the ground. Do it now … Get on the ground right now or you are going to get tased.”
But Valles, who was standing in the middle of traffic without a shirt on, didn’t follow the cop’s command.
The claim says Valles “speaks Spanish and does not speak or understand English.”
Bryant goes on to deploy the Taser and Valles can be seen collapsing to the ground and screaming in agony, the video shows.
Bryant then repeatedly punched Valles before his camera fell to the ground. Valles could be heard continuing to scream as the beatdown allegedly continued, according to the video.
At one point, another man could be heard screaming, “Hey! He doesn’t understand!”
Prosecutors last week announced that they dropped the charges of disorderly conduct, attempted assault and possession of a controlled substance against Valles, though they left the door open to filing new charges, according to a report by KOMO News.
The cop “struck [Valles] in the head and face with his fists at least two dozen times,” the legal notice alleged.
“The force was unnecessary and excessive,” the claim said.
The blows from Bryant were doubled because after each hit, Valles’ head knocked back into the pavement, Valles’ lawyer, Evan Oshan, told The Post.
Valles “suffered a concussion (mild traumatic brain injury), contusions to the face, multiple other contusions and a Taser dart wound to the left upper abdomen,” the notice alleged. “He was taken from the scene by ambulance and hospitalized. He continues to have pain, confusion, fear, and emotional distress,” the legal notice alleged.
Valles, who has a daughter and no prior criminal history, had been asking for help when he was arrested, Oshan claimed. The lawyer also claimed testing found no drugs in Valles’ system at the time.
“He was approaching the officer for help. It was a mental health call. It was complete shock to him when he got electrocuted and brutally beaten,” Oshan said.
Oshan told The Post he wants a criminal investigation and charges to be brought against Bryant. He is also demanding that Bryant be fired.
The Auburn police said the Renton Police were conducting a criminal probe. And Auburn was conducting an internal investigation of the incident.
“If an ordinary citizen had done this, nobody would be asking whether there should be charges. They would be asking when. A badge should not change that answer,” Oshan said.
Bryant was put on administrative leave during the internal probe, a spokesperson for Auburn said.
Bryant had allegedly been responding to a report of someone running through traffic and attempting to get into a car, Fox 13 Seattle reported.
The officer could be heard telling fellow cops after that he thought he felt Valles reaching for his firearm in the video.
“At one point, I felt him, I think he grabbed my gun. I’m not 100% sure,” he could be heard saying in the video. “I think he tried to, or did grab at least, my holster. So, I just started delivering strikes until he stopped.”
Oshan maintained that Valles was seeking help and wasn’t trying to harm anyone or get into any vehicles.
A spokesperson for the city of Auburn declined to comment. The state Attorney General’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
It is unknown who is representing Bryant.
In a previous statement, Mayor of Auburn Nancy Backus said she saw the video and understood “why it has raised serious concerns.”
“The footage is difficult to watch, and I recognize and empathize with the questions people are asking about what happened that afternoon,” Backus said.
