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Released body-worn camera footage shows Joel Alejo, a resident of Mountain View, get bitten by a Palo Alto police dog on June 25, 2020. Courtesy city of Palo Alto.
The cities of Palo Alto and Mountain View have reached a settlement with Joel Alejo, who was attacked and repeatedly bitten by a police dog while he was sleeping in a backyard shed in Mountain View last year, federal court records show.
While the terms of the settlement weren’t immediately available Friday, federal records indicate that the two cities settled with Alejo during a conference on Dec. 17. Attorneys for the two sides were directed at the meeting by Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim to execute a written agreement based on the terms of the settlement.
City Attorney Molly Stump said that as of Tuesday morning, there was no non-confidential information available for public release. Alejo’s attorney, Sharona Eslamboly Hakim, did not respond to an inquiry from this news organization about the settlement.
Alejo’s lawsuit against the two cities stems from an incident that occurred on June 25, 2020, in Mountain View. Officers from Mountain View and Palo Alto were conducting a yard-to-yard search for a kidnapping suspect in the 1800 block of Elsie Avenue at about 2 a.m. when they approached a backyard shed with permission from the homeowner. Video footage of the incident shows Alejo sleeping on the floor as several officers walk into the shed, led by Balko, a Palo Alto police dog, and his handler, Officer Nick Enberg. Balko approaches Alejo while Enberg repeatedly commands him to bite.
The dog then bit Alejo numerous times as Alejo covered his head with his hands while one of the officers yelled, “Stop resisting!” After a struggle that lasted for close to a minute, officers restrained Balko and handcuffed Alejo, the video shows. Minutes later, police determined that Alejo was not the suspect they were looking for. He was taken to the hospital to be treated for bite wounds.
Alejo, who was 37 years old at the time of the incident, subsequently filed a suit seeking $20 million in damages.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office subsequently investigated the case but did not file charges against Enberg or any other officer involved in the incident. The District Attorney’s Office determined that the incident did not come within the county’s “Officer-Involved Incident Protocol,” which governs incidents in which officers cause great bodily injury or fatalities.
” there was no non-confidential information available for public release.” Any settlement amount that might have paid by Mountain View and/or Palo Alto residents/taxpayers should not be confidential.
This taxpayer wants to know how much this is costing us.
The cost should be known to the taxpayers. This is another example of police coverup.
Perhaps police chief Johnson and City Attorney Stump should be fired. Enough is enough.
We’ll have our details soon enough. And if the Palo Alto City Council does not bring its police department’s culture to heel, then we will have details of another police misconduct lawsuit soon enough, as well.
Council needs to strengthen oversight into misconduct allegations and roll back recent changes that decrease transparency. They also should adopt strong whistleblower protections as well as a recognition program for police officers who expose abuses committed by other officers.
So I am a bit confused. The homeowner gave the police permission to search the shed. Why would they do that if Mr. Alejo was sleeping in there? …..Um, unless of course the homeowner didn’t KNOW he was in there because Mr. Alejo was trespassing. Seems like fair game for a dog bite.
The victim savaged by this dog was a close relative visiting his family who owned the home and gave permission to him to sleep the night in back.
A young member of the family didn’t know anyone was sleeping there and agreed to the police search with the dog.
A horrible outcome that too often happens with many variations when dogs are used against people.