A Palo Alto police officer who slammed a man into a car windshield during a 2018 arrest at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park pleaded guilty to the assault on Nov. 21, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.
Wayne Benitez, who retired as police sergeant shortly after the 2018 incident, will avoid prison time as part of the plea deal. He will have to do 750 hours of community service, take anger management courses and undergo LGBTQ sensitivity training, according to the District Attorney.
Benitez was among the officers who confronted Gustavo Alvarez at his home in the El Camino mobile home park on Feb. 18, 2018. After officers repeatedly instructed him to come out of the house, one of them kicked the door. When Alvarez came out, Benitez and two other officers grabbed him, pinned him on the hood of his car and cuffed his hands. Benitez then slammed him against the windshield and asked him, "You think you're a tough guy?"
When Alvarez complained that he was bleeding, Benitez responded, "You're going to be bleeding a whole lot more."
Minutes later, Benitez appeared to be making fun of Alvarez for being gay by saying, "Come and get me!" in a flamboyant tone, according to footage captured by Alvarez' surveillance camera and later released by his attorney.
The District Attorney's Public and Law Enforcement Integrity Team, which handled the investigation, also concluded that Benitez falsified the police report by writing that no force was used during the arrest.
Alvarez was charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license and resisting arrest, among other charges. The charges were later dismissed by the District Attorney's Office.
Alvarez also sued the city, which resulted in the City Council approving a $572,500 settlement in 2019.
"When someone with a badge breaks the law, it cracks the confidence that people have in law enforcement," Rosen said in a statement. "That is not just unfortunate. It is unacceptable. No one is above the law."
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