A former police officer who beat a man with a baton at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 2022 was sentenced to one year in prison on Friday.
Juan Anthony Carrillo, 46, went to the medical center around 4 a.m. in January 2022 to help another officer take into custody a 34-year-old man, identified in court records only as RV. Arrived. While not in custody, he walked around the grounds of the medical center carrying a clear glass pipe that officers suspected was drug paraphernalia, according to a sentencing memo filed in federal court.
Carrillo, of Alhambra, struck the man 45 times in about 41 seconds with a 22-inch baton issued by his department as the man screamed in pain. Prosecutors said the beating left him with cuts on both legs and a broken leg.
“Most, if not all, baton attacks occurred while other officers were on top of the unarmed victims,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. Carrillo weighed 60 pounds more than the man and continued to punch him even when he was completely still, prosecutors wrote in the memo.
After the attack, Carrillo “never withdrew the baton, despite repeatedly slamming it against the concrete pavement in an attempt to break it,” prosecutors wrote in a memo.
“Police officers have a special duty, and they have a special duty to maintain the trust of the citizens they police,” Judge Wesley L. Hsu, who handed down the sentence, said during Friday’s hearing.
Carrillo pleaded guilty in July to a misdemeanor charge of depriving a person of their rights in the name of law as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Prosecutors allege in the indictment that Carrillo also falsely reported that the victim kicked her violently in the legs and refused to show her hands to justify the use of force. He did not say how many times he hit him.
“We deeply appreciate the difficult work that law enforcement officers face every day. The vast majority of law enforcement officers conduct themselves with professionalism and integrity,” said U.S. District Attorney Martin Estrada. he said when Carrillo was indicted last year. “However, when a police officer engages in conduct that violates the civil rights of others, we respond to uphold the rule of law and maintain public confidence in our justice system.”
