ANTIOCH — The city has agreed to pay $180,000 to settle a lawsuit with a man who reportedly suffered a concussion and other injuries after he was punched by officers in September 2019.
The settlement, finalized late last year, dismisses the federal lawsuit filed by Antioch resident Miguel Minjares, which accused Antioch police of “a pattern and practice of using excessive force and misconduct against citizens” through an “entrenched culture and posture of deliberate indifference toward protecting citizen’s rights.” Attorneys for the city filed court papers “generally and specifically” denying the claims, without elaboration.
Antioch police declined to comment on the settlement.
Minjares, a Hayward middle school teacher, said in the suit that police were called during argument with his adult daughter; he asked her to leave the home. In a subsequent Facebook post, he said police attacked him after he refused to provide ID to the officers when they agreed the incident was civil, not criminal in nature.
The officers arrested Minjares on suspicion of resisting arrest. The Contra Costa District Attorney declined to file charges against him.
Minjares has a familial connection to one of the Bay Area’s most high-profile police killings; in 2017, his 16-year-old niece, Elena Mondragon, was shot and killed by Fremont detectives in an incident that’s the subject of a pending federal lawsuit. Mondragon was a passenger in a car that allegedly reversed into the police vehicle. The suspected driver, Rico Tiger, was charged with murdering her.
Melissa Nold, who represented Minjares, said in an email to this newspaper that the civil suit “can never truly compensate Mr. Minjares for the assault and intrusion into his home.”
“However, he is just glad that the case is resolved so the family can concentrate on the upcoming trial for the officer-involved death of his niece Elena Mondragon,” Nold said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com