The family of Heriberto Alejandro Sanchez-Mayen is suing the St. Petersburg police, alleging that their actions led to his permanent injuries while he was in a prisoner transport van.
A man in police custody became paralyzed and had his legs amputated after riding unrestrained and handcuffed in the back of a prisoner transport van. Florida The family is suing over the incident when the officer suddenly and aggressively slammed on the brakes.
The family of Heriberto Alejandro Sanchez-Mayen made the allegations in a legal filing seeking more than $75,000 against two St. Petersburg police officers. lawsuit The lawsuit was filed this week, seeking compensation for injuries sustained during an arrest last June for trespassing on a vacant city lot.
Thomas Scolaro, the family’s lawyer, stated in a press briefing that Sanchez-Mayen's plight was due to the city of St. Petersburg's handling of the situation. The family's lawyer expressed this during a news conference..
Scolaro claimed that Sanchez-Mayen was illegally arrested and condemned the action as a form of punishment for sleeping in a public lot. he saidThe lawyer remarked that the arrest served as a lesson.
The Tampa Bay Times According to the Tampa Bay Times, neither officer faced consequences for the incident and both are still with the department.
The St. Petersburg Police Department denies the allegations and defers to the judicial process, as stated by the agency in response to the lawsuit.
On June 8, 2023, Officer Sarah Gaddis found Sanchez-Mayen sleeping on cardboard on a vacant lot at 10:27 a.m. According to court documents.
There is police body camera footage of the events. The officer points out a “No Trespassing” sign in the footage.
The officer asks Sanchez-Mayen about the sign.
Sanchez-Mayen questions if he will receive a citation.
Officer Gaddis decides to take Sanchez-Mayen to jail, citing previous issues with him.
The officer mentions that Sanchez-Mayen frequently receives tickets and does not change his behavior.
Officer Michael Thacker arrives to take Sanchez-Mayen to jail in a prisoner transport van.
Thacker restrains Sanchez-Mayen with handcuffs and places him in the van's rear compartment, which lacks seat belts or restraints, then drives the van recklessly and at an unsafe speed.
Lawyers allege that Thacker abruptly braked the van at a red traffic light, causing harm to Sanchez-Mayen, as confirmed by the actions of another arrestee in a separate compartment who kicked the van's wall before the sudden stop.
The lawsuit claims that Sanchez-Mayen's head hit the metal partition in the van's prisoner compartment due to a sudden hard stop.
Court documents stated that Thacker attempted to check the livestream camera feed after hearing the crash, but it was not turned on. When he finally saw Sanchez-Mayen lying motionless, he did not stop the van to check on him and continued driving to the Pinellas County Jail.
At the jail's intake sally port, Thacker found Sanchez-Mayen unconscious and unresponsive after opening the rear doors.
Thacker repeatedly tried to wake up Sanchez-Mayen and eventually dragged him out of the van, unintentionally causing more harm.
According to court documents, Thacker performed an aggressive sternum rub on Sanchez-Mayen's chest before medical personnel arrived.
As a result of the incident, Sanchez-Mayen suffered permanent injuries to his cervical spine and had to undergo amputation of both legs, leaving him quadriplegic.
Last month, his criminal trespassing charge was dismissed due to issues with the placement of signage.