A former Pueblo police officer who admitted to having anger issues and inadequate Taser training was not disciplined or fired after an internal investigation found he may have used excessive force, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week.
The lawsuit filed by 39-year-old Pueblo resident Cristy Gonzales alleges former Officer Bennie Villanueva shocker her with a Taser in her back while she was getting on the ground and complying with police orders during an arrest. Gonzales still experiences numbness and difficulty using her right hand as a result.
The lawsuit also alleges Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller did not train Villanueva or discipline him after an investigation by the department found he may have improperly used a Taser against suspects on at least two occasions, including Gonzales’ arrest.
Gonzales and her attorneys are seeking monetary relief for the physical and mental damages, reimbursement for her medical and legal costs, to revoke Villanueva’s state police certification and to require the Pueblo Police Department to correct a state report that no officers had disqualifying incidents on the job, according to the lawsuit.
Villanueva retired from the Pueblo Police Department on Oct. 15, according to spokesperson Sgt. Frank Ortega. Ortega said the department could not comment on the pending litigation.
“According to Colorado state law, Officer Villanueva should have been fired or at least decertified for a year, but Chief Noeller didn’t do that,” Gonzales’ attorney Kevin Mehr said in Monday news release. “In fact, in his annual report to the Attorney General, he said that Villanueva had not been subject to a ‘disqualifying incident.’ That’s simply not true and if he’d lie to the Attorney General to protect an aggressive and violent officer who disregards department policy and state law, then what else has he and this department covered up?”
The lawsuit centers on Gonzales’ encounter with police on Feb. 21, 2022, when Villanueva and another officer approached her on suspicion of driving a stolen Toyota Tacoma, according to the lawsuit.
Gonzales had exited the truck, which had run out of gas, and was attempting to stop it from slowly drifting into a busy intersection, according to the lawsuit. Villanueva stopped the truck by pulling his police cruiser in front of the Tacoma.
The body-worn camera footage provided by Gonzales’ attorney shows that after he stopped the truck, Villanueva jumped from his vehicle and said “She’s running” into his police radio, while Gonzales stood nearby and began raising her hands in the air.
When Villanueva drew his Taser and shouted at Gonzales to get on the ground, the other officer already had a hand on her, guiding her right arm behind her back for cuffs, the video shows.
Villanueva grabbed Gonzales’ left arm with one hand and went behind her while still pointing his Taser at Gonzales with the other.
Both officers had their hands on Gonzales and she was lowering herself to the ground when Villanueva discharged his Taser into her back, near her spine, the video shows.
The Pueblo County District Attorney’s Office filed a complaint about Villanueva’s excessive force with the Pueblo Police Department after receiving evidence about the incident, according to the lawsuit.
A subsequent Pueblo Police Department internal investigation found that Villanueva may have violated department policies on conduct, including use of force, in Gonzales’ arrest and one other arrest involving a Taser.
“(The department’s) failure to discipline Villanueva for prior instances of excessive force by means of a Taser, just as here, displayed a deliberate indifference on behalf of PPD in taking excessive force situations seriously, and disregarded the risks to citizens at the hands of an officer who has displayed a clear pattern of excessive force,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges Villanueva was told to put together a training on use of force and Tasers, but never finished putting the training together or presented it to other officers because he was told by a department official he didn’t need to follow through.
Villanueva told the department’s internal affairs investigators he was angry about how the department handled the murder of his father; that he did his job as hard and as best he could and got punished for it; the expectation to be a “perfect angel now” under a 2020 police accountability law; and lack of training in the department.
Villanueva said he was also angry with his life in general and was afraid he was being singled out, according to the internal affairs report.
Villanueva pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in January 2022 in connection with an off-duty fight, according to the Pueblo Chieftain. Villanueva told internal affairs investigators he was falsely charged and the district attorney “has some different feelings about me as an individual.”
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