Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Tucumcari man filed a lawsuit against the city, police department and two officers over his being body-slammed during a 2021 arrest that was captured by a bystander’s video.
Pete Apodaca filed a complaint for damages on March 6 in Tucumcari district court. The defendants are the City of Tucumcari, Tucumcari Police Department, former TPD corporal Herman Martinez and officer Justin Garcia.
Margie Rutledge of the Harrison, Hart & Davis law firm in Albuquerque filed the seven-page suit on Apodaca’s behalf, and it demands a jury trial.
According to the lawsuit, Apodaca suffered a broken collarbone, a cracked rib and head and back injuries while being picked up and body-slammed during his arrest.
It states Apodaca has “extreme difficulty” bending over or lifting items.
“Mr. Apodaca’s injuries have precluded him from picking up his toddler aged son or helping him dress,” it states. “Mr. Apodaca’s injuries persist, and treatment of the injuries is ongoing.”
The lawsuit also states Martinez and Garcia had been accused of and disciplined for misconduct on previous occasions.
According to earlier reporting by the Quay County Sun, the officers were dispatched to check on a possible drunken driver.
They pulled over a van in the Lowe’s Market parking lot driven by Apodaca, 43, whose revoked driver’s license included an arrest clause.
Apodaca, who begged not to be detained, resisted arrest as Martinez tried to handcuff him and hit the officer in the face. Garcia performed “an arm bar takedown” on Apodaca.
Tucumcari resident Josh Daniel filmed the arrest with his smartphone. Footage showed as Apodaca was about to be placed in a police vehicle, he lunged away. An officer, later identified as Garcia, lifted Apodaca in a bear hug and threw him headfirst to the pavement.
Bystanders could be heard in the video questioning that use of force, saying “Are you serious?” and “Police brutality!”
An ambulance took Apodaca to Trigg Memorial Hospital for treatment. Medics also treated Martinez at the scene for cuts suffered during the altercation, and he later drove to the hospital for treatment of other injuries.
The video was broadcast by an Albuquerque television station.
An internal investigation by the police department cleared Garcia a month later, ruling there was no violation of policy. Garcia had been on administrative leave during the review.
A year later, Apodaca pleaded no contest to resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, driving while license revoked and no proof of insurance. Counts of battery on a peace officer, failure to register a vehicle and a second charge of resisting were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. sentenced Apodaca to 364 days in jail, all of which were suspended but seven days, and one year of supervised probation. He also was fined $300, plus fees and costs.
Mitchell ordered Apodaca to write a letter of apology to the officers who arrested him.
Martinez retired from the force less than a year after Apodaca’s arrest and unsuccessfully ran for Quay County sheriff in the Republican primary in June 2022.
The first count of Apodaca’s lawsuit alleges assault and battery against Martinez and Garcia. The second count alleges excessive force. The third count alleges negligent training of the officers.
The lawsuit requests compensatory damages, court costs, pre- and post-judgment interest and “whatever additional relief the Court may deem just and proper.”
A phone message left with city attorney Jared Najjar requesting comment went unanswered.
