Cop on Trial After Video Showed Him Break Into Innocent Man’s Home, Taser, Beat Him in BedBoyes Hot Springs, CA — Only in police state USA could an argument over a husband failing to notice his wife’s haircut end with police tasering and severely beating a man as he lies in bed. That is exactly what happened to Marine Corps veteran Fernando Del Valle — and he’s got the video to prove it. What is different about this case, however, is that the cop responsible for this bad behavior is now on trial.
This week, the trial for Deputy Scott Thorne begins. Thorne is charged with assaulting without lawful necessity during an alleged domestic violence incident at a Sonoma Valley residence in 2016.
According to Patch.com, during testimony in Sonoma County Superior Court this morning, a next-door neighbor said she called 911 about yelling and a commotion between Fernando Del Valle and his wife Kirsten Del Valle around 10:30 p.m. She said Kirsten sounded intoxicated and appeared to be the aggressor in the argument.
Aside from police being told that the female was the aggressor, they still entered the home and went after Del Valle—who was lying on a bed—when he was savagely attacked.
“He was beaten, Tased and subjected to a humiliating arrest in view of his neighbors,” the prosecutor said.
Thorne had a gun, Taser, baton, handcuffs and tear gas, “but he didn’t have the soft skills of patience and restraint,” and he used force without lawful necessity, Deputy District Attorney Robert Waner said, according to Patch.
On the night of September 24, Del Valle, 38, and Kirsten had some drinks and got into an argument after he failed to notice her haircut. The argument became heated but never once turned physical.
As Del Valle retreated into the bedroom and locked himself in, the couple’s screaming got the attention of the neighbors, who, in turn, called the police.
Just as the argument begins to calm down, cops burst into the couple’s home. Del Valle, who is trying to go to sleep in bed, is then woken up by the sound of Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies breaking down his bedroom door.
Before the video begins, the deputies allegedly order Del Valle to stand up.
That’s when Del Valle turns on his camera and warns the deputies, “I got you on video. Go ahead. Tase me.”
Remember, Del Valle had committed no crime and had harmed no one. Yet, here he is with three armed men in his bedroom threatening to inflict bodily harm on him. And, within seconds, that just what Deputy Scott Thorne, 40, did.
“Sir, I’m just laying here trying to sleep and you’re …,” Del Valle said. “I’m not standing up. I’m in my house. I’m sleeping.”
As Thorne steps forward, he’s seen on the video aiming his taser at the bare chest of Del Valle who is wearing only gym shorts. He then fires.
When the taser hits him, Del Valle can be heard screaming. At this point, the baton comes out, according to Del Valle’s attorney, and Thorne begins laying into the defenseless man in his own bed.
“He’s not doing anything!” his wife screams as the deputy continuously beats her husband over and over with his baton and taser.
The video then ends as Del Valle shouts repeatedly, “Call my lawyer!”
Del Valle was not able to record the entire encounter, but the beating continued well after it stopped.
According to the Press Democrat, a spokesman for Sheriff Steve Freitas at the time agreed the deputies’ three videos raised concerns from the start about excessive force.
Naturally, Thorne’s defense team is claiming that Thorne acted the way he did because he was in danger.
By not complying with the deputy’s commands to open the bedroom door and get out of the bed, Del Valle forfeited his right to privacy and staying in the room because of the potential for violence, Thorne’s attorney Chris Andrian said.
However, it is clear in the video that at no time did this half-naked man pose a threat to the cops who broke into his house.
As the Press Democrat revealed in their investigation, Thorne should’ve never been a cop as he’d been fired from previous jobs over his track record of excessive force.
However, none of that matters to Thorne’s attorney who is naturally defending the actions of this brutal cop.
“His position is he followed procedure,” Andrian said, noting that he acted in accordance with his training.
As for Del Valle, after he was severely beaten by Thorne — for no reason — he was then arrested and brought to jail. However, once police attempted to charge him with something, they realized they had no evidence of him committing a crime, so he was let go.
Del Valle’s lawyer, Izaak Schwaiger, said, in all, Del Valle was tasered 2 to 3 times and suffered at least 15 baton blows, causing neurological damage and a separated shoulder.
The Del Valles are set to give their side of the story later this week. Below is the disturbing video.
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-trial-beating-veteran-bed/
