Ok so Pablo Gilberto Valenzuela got his ass whooped the other night but it wasnt his fault…all the way. He suspected of taking 1000 Oxycotin tablets from the local pharmacy. The cops pulled him over, searched him, handcuffed him, and beat the hell out of him. They beat him for a couple minutes, all while being taped on the police car’s camera. Did they forget the camera’s were rolling?
According to the city, Schwartz attempted to arrest Valenzuela for robbing a pharmacy of about 1,000 Oxycontin pills.
The officer was involved in an unrelated traffic stop in the pharmacy parking lot when a clerk ran out of the store and said they’d been robbed, he said.
He said Schwartz caught the masked suspect behind the store, where Valenzuela attempted to pepper-spray him.
Schwartz drew his gun and ordered Valenzuela to the ground.
The video shows Graham arrive and put a knee into Valenzuela’s back as he was being handcuffed. The video then shows Graham punch and kick Valenzuela in the face. Schwartz is also seen on the video kicking Valenzuela.
Zangara, the third officer, then lifted a handcuffed Valenzuela to his feet. As the suspect pulls away from the officer, Zangara can be seen punching him several times in the face until the man collapsed. Valenzuela was arrested on charges of robbery, assault and battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. Graham and Schwartz insist they only kicked Valenzuela because the man was trying to bite Graham’s leg. Zangara said he punched Valenzuela after he tried to spit on him.
I need to know that the cops are not going to find a bag on me on the way home from work or school and beat the hell out of me. Not that its the same, I just hold I don’t run into the police with “nothing to lose” (apparently). Its no reason to just beat on somebody like that. Are these cops facing any charges? One of them quit and the other two were fired, but I think they need more, what do you think?
1 response so far ↓
FrankCastle // September 26, 2008 at 11:16 am
As a personal friend of the accused i can tell you this..Mr Valenzuela is a 5 1/2 year employee of Palm Beach County..Has never been arrested in his life ..was involuntarilly intoxicated on perscription medicine at the time this incident occured (three strong medicines at the same time) and gave the police no reason to beat the hell out of him..it was 100 oxycodone pills not a 1000 oxycontin,there is no evidence that he ever sprayed anyone with anything! It is clear however that the officers involved lied to there own internal affairs dept. in an attempt to justify what they had done-which was to profile a hispanic male as just another criminal and dole out there own form of punishment..unfortunately the City of W.P.Bch. Florida has quite a reputation for this type of thing as it happens on a regular basis..If your ever driving thru the city of W.P.Bch…be afraid be very afraid as this can happen to you and believe the police can raise the blue wall of silence and cover it up..if its not caught on dash-cam video-even there ignorant Chief of Police said”It was a thin line between giving them a comondation and having to dicipline them?-But after seeing the video i have to agree this was excessive force?”To answer your question -If you had hancuffed someone and then kicked and punched them repeatedly in the head would’nt you be arrested and charged with at least Felony assualt if not attempted Murder?????