Teen who was punched in the face by Fresno police gets city settlement, attorneys say
The city of Fresno is poised to settle the excessive force lawsuit brought by London Wallace for $500,000, attorneys confirmed to The Bee.
Wallace sued Fresno Police Department, alleging Officer Christopher Martinez used excessive force in a 2019 incident where body camera footage showed Martinez punching Wallace, then 17, multiple times.
The Fresno City Council still must approve the settlement. A Fresno police spokesperson referred questions about the settlement to City Hall. Sontaya Rose, spokesperson for the mayor’s office, declined to comment Wednesday.
Wallace’s attorneys, Warren Paboojian and Nolan Kane, said Wallace, now 20, is satisfied with the settlement.
“It was a long process,” Kane said. “He wants to move on with his life.
“It’s too bad it took so long to reach a resolution, and the city of Fresno fought so hard when it was clearly an overreaction by the officer,” Kane said.
Wallace’s case became national news once the body camera footage was released.
Fresno’s independent police reviewer in 2020 found the officer used excessive force when he repeatedly punched Wallace. Independent reviewer John Gliatta admitted withholding the report with his finding, citing concerns the findings could lead to civil unrest during a time when protests erupted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
Attorneys for Wallace said he was attending a birthday party at the complex when Fresno police conducted a probation search for domestic violence.
In the body cam footage, Wallace places his hands behind his head with his fingers locked as a pair of officers pat him down.
After Wallace is done being patted down, one of the officers says a few words to Wallace and points toward the ground where other people are sitting down.
Within five seconds, Martinez confronts Wallace and grabs the teen’s arm.
Wallace yelled back at Martinez.
Then a man who claimed to be Wallace’s brother, Patrick Beard, yells: “Hey, don’t touch my little brother.”
Almost simultaneously, Martinez unleashes a fury of punches at Wallace’s head.
“I noticed Wallace was not listening,” Martinez said, according to a Fresno police report. “I believed Wallace was going to attempt to flee. …
“I punched Wallace approximately three times in the face in order to get him off me and to back him up. …”
“By punching Wallace in the face,” Martinez added, “I received the desired effect, creating the distance between me and Wallace, which allowed me to get my back off of the second story balcony railing.”
Body cam footage goes on to show Wallace wrestled to the ground by officers and police struggling to get both of his hands behind his back and handcuff him.
Eventually, the body cam footage shows Wallace in tears, with blood on the side of his right eye, along with a bloody nose and bloody mouth. Kane said Wallace suffered a broken nose.
Wallace was arrested that day on accusations of resisting arrest and obstruction.
The charges were later dropped.
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 4:26 PM.