SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A woman said she was accused of a hit-and-run crash by police even though she said video shows she wasn’t even behind the wheel of her car.
Scottsdale Police are now facing a lawsuit that accuses the department and some of its officers of wrongfully arresting and mistreating Yesse Garcia.
May 24, 2020
It was back on May 24, 2020, when Garcia said she was out at a bar in Scottsdale with her friends. She said when she went back to her parked car, she found the front windshield smashed.
Garcia said she and her friends flagged down Scottsdale police officers who were nearby investigating a hit-and-run crash.
Body camera video from those officers provided to 12 News by Garcia’s attorneys shows officers questioning Garcia and her friends about the incident and her car.
“When you got back here and you saw your car and you saw us, and you never got in your car?” one officer is heard asking Garcia.
“No!” Garcia is seen responding.
Another clip of body camera footage shows an officer talking to Garcia a few minutes after arriving at Garcia’s car.
"He was hit, your car is involved,” the officer said.
“We just left HIFI, literally, we were going home,” Garcia said.
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Surveillance camera captures Garcia’s car
Garcia’s attorneys said her car was parked on the street that night next to the Galleria in Scottsdale.
“I’m glad there was a camera there,” Garcia said.
Surveillance camera footage provided to 12 News by Garcia’s attorneys shows a person appearing to jump onto Garcia’s car and windshield.
“When you take a look at a video and you see that somebody, that her window is clearly smashed, because of a vandal, it’s unreasonable in our opinion to then go and then say that she was involved in a hit-and-run,” Anthony Ramirez, one of Garcia’s attorneys said.
Garcia’s attorneys claim Scottsdale police looked at the surveillance footage but decided to arrest her anyway.
“She didn’t do anything wrong. She was a victim of a crime and then ended up being victimized by the police officers that she called to help her,” Ramirez said.
In the body camera footage, officers are also seen shining a flashlight on Garcia’s clothes and claiming to see glass on her.
However, Garcia and her friends insist that she was not in the car when her windshield was broken.
Lawsuit filed
Garcia’s attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court on her behalf against the City of Scottsdale, the Scottsdale Police Department and several of its officers.
In the complaint, her attorneys said Garcia was arrested on DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges have since been dropped.
Her attorneys also said Garcia was denied an attorney when she requested one after being read her Miranda rights, was stripped to collect the glass evidence officers claimed were on her clothes and had blood drawn unjustifiably.
“Miss Garcia didn’t do anything wrong, but these officers did,” Benjamin Taylor, another of Garcia’s attorneys said. “So hopefully these officers get punished for violating Miss Garcia’s rights.”
Internal investigation
A spokesperson for the City of Scottsdale said while the city does not comment on pending litigation, the city has received a copy of the lawsuit.
In a media release last week, Scottsdale Police Department Chief Jeff Walther said an internal investigation had been opened into the incident.
“I have directed the internal affairs unit to have the report and findings on my desk no later than September 14th,” Walther said in the release.
Garcia and her attorneys hope the investigation and lawsuit will bring changes to the department and discipline for those involved.
“I feel nobody should have to go through this,” Garcia said.
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