A Guadalupe man claims a deputy who pulled him over for a burned-out brake light ran over him, then assaulted his family as he lay trapped and screaming beneath a squad car.
These hair-raising details are found in a notice of claim filed last week against Maricopa County, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and one of his deputies, James Carey.
Armando Luis Nido wants $750,000 for his well-documented pain and suffering, plus the civil rights violation. His mother and two brothers are asking for $25,000 each.
It's the latest bad news for the sheriff, who was slammed with an $8 million lawsuit by jail guards and more damning news about the Sheriff's Command Association.
The claim, stamped August 6 by the clerk of the court's office, was written by Robert Ramirez of Miranda, Ramirez and Associates, a Phoenix law firm.
The ugly affair, as Ramirez tells it, unfolded on February 10, 2009 after Carey tried to pull over Nido.
The Guadalupe man was wanting none of it that night -- he claims to have been previously arrested, illegally jailed for three days and "nearly deported" by the sheriff's office, which provides police services for the tiny Valley town. He's a legal resident of the United States, says the claim. Instead of stopping right away, Nido drove home -- never exceeding the speed limit and stopping at all stop signs, writes Ramirez.
Once in front of his residence, he got out of the car... and was promptly run over by Carey's vehicle. Nido was trapped on the right side of the patrol car, the claims says. Here's a sample:
Nido's brother took two pictures of the incident and was allegedly "attacked" by Carey:
The claim goes on to detail Nido's injuries, which included severe road rash (he needed a skin graft on his butt), plus fractures of his ribs, pelvis and tailbone. The sheriff's office version of events might differ dramatically from Nido's, but it'll be hard to argue with the medical reports Nido racked up.
If we had to bet at this first blush, we'd put our money on the guy with the screws and skin grafts.
UPDATE: October 6, 2010 -- Nido wins $600,000 in settlement with the county.
