Salinas, California resident Jose Valesco had a tough day last Friday.
Police initially responded to North Main Street and Bernal Dr. after receiving complaints about a man charging in and out of the street, screaming at motorists, and leaping onto cars. By the time officers arrived at the scene, the suspect — Jose Valesco — had apparently pinned his mother to the pavement in the northbound lane after she attempted to dissuade him from running into oncoming traffic.
Police gave Valesco several verbal warnings before moving in to pull him away. According to a press release, the situation soon escalated when Valesco was able to wrestle a taser away from one of the arresting officers at which point the other officers drew their tasers and deployed them.
What they did not know was that Valesco had been drinking heavily and smoking methamphetamine (which would appear to explain the whole charging around in traffic and screaming bit) a combination which ultimately rendered the tasers ineffective.
That’s when the batons came out.
What happened next was captured on the cell phone footage shown below.
But it didn't stop there.
Valesco, down but certainly not out after suffering what appears to have been a severe beating at the hands of five officers, was on his way to the hospital when he grabbed an officer and a paramedic through the rails of a gurney and attempted to bite them. At that point, he was "chemically restrained."
In the wake of the incident, Valesco's sister Antoinette Ramirez told The Guardian [3] that her brother is "mentally ill." While not disputing the claim that Valesco was assaulting his mother when officers arrived, Ramirez did note that her mom "walked away just fine."
Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin acknowledged that "out of context" the video is "horrific and inflammatory."
McMillin went on to say that if ever there were a case where context is key, this is surely it: "If [Valesco] is mentally ill, methamphetamine and alcohol intoxication on top of that is all a recipe for disaster."
"He was incredibly strong because of the methamphetamine," he added.
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Bonus excessive force clip:
