Man Sues Concord Police For Excessive Force

CONCORD - A man is suing the city of Concord and several of its police department’s officers for allegedly subjecting him to excessive force during a wrongful arrest in 2014, according to court records.

On Oct. 4, Samuel Bogut filed a lawsuit against the city and Concord police officers Anthony Zalec, Jeffrey Bilodeau, Zerina Redzic and Michael Kindorf in U.S. District Court of Northern California.

Through his lawyers, Sanjay Schmidt and Panos Lagos, Bogut accused these officers in the lawsuit of violating his constitutional rights, using excessive force, falsely arresting and imprisoning him, assaulting him and being negligent. Additionally, it accuses the city’s police department of not properly ensuring that lawful policies and procedures were adhered to at the time of Bogut’s arrest on September 26, 2014.

The lawsuit arises from an incident in which Bogut was arrested but not charged by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. Bogut’s lawyers claim he was arrested wrongfully.

During his arrest, Bogut suffered cuts, bruises, abrasions, nerve damage from “excessively-tight handcuffing” and had a Taser used on him twice, according to court records.

On that day, Concord police investigated a report of stalker at the home of Bogut and his sister, Gianna, according to court records. Two officers named as defendants, Zalec and Bilodeau, allegedly were told that Bogut was a resident of the home, but did not intercede when another officer, Kindorf, used a Taser on him when officers responded for a second time to the home, according to court records.

Bogut was in the backyard of the residence and had already located a prowler who ran off there, according to court records.

Bogut allegedly told Kindorf several times that he was the victim’s brother, that he lived there and that the actual suspect was running down the street, according to court records.

Kindorf is accused of using a Taser on Bogut a second time regardless, and one of the other officers is accused of kicking him while he was on his knees, according to court records.

Bogut was taken into custody and, due to not being able to show up to work, later lost an opportunity for a permanent position at his job, according to court records. He also allegedly suffered a nerve injury due to his handcuffs that numbed his thumbs and sought medical treatment for that.

He’s now seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

In its written response to the complaint, the city’s attorneys admitted that the officers were dispatched to the home and that the Bogut was arrested after an investigation.

There was “some force” used to get him into custody, the attorneys wrote, but the officers approached the use of force in an “objectively reasonable manner.”

It was also alleged that the cause of injuries or damages claimed by the Bogut were the fault of himself or others, not the officers or the police department.

Neither the city’s attorneys nor Bogut’s lawyers were immediately available to comment on the case.

-Bay City News, Inc.