Attorney Marc J. Victor speaks to the media concerning his client, Johnny Wheatcroft, Monday, Feb. 11, 2019, in Chandler, Ariz. Victor has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Wheatcroft claiming the Glendale, Ariz. police dept. used excessive force against Wheatcroft during his arrest in 2017. (AP Photo/Matt York)
February 11, 2019 - 5:59 PM
GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Latest on a federal lawsuit filed over alleged excessive force by suburban Phoenix police (all times local):
7 p.m.
Officials at a police department in metro Phoenix are defending officers who were captured on a body-camera video shooting a handcuffed man with a stun gun in a motel parking lot.
A lawsuit stemming from the July 2017 encounter says one Glendale officer kicked Johnny Wheatcroft in the groin during a struggle, while another officer shot him in the testicles with a stun gun.
Glendale police responded to the excessive force allegations Monday after a video of the encounter surfaced on local TV over the weekend.
The agency denied that an officer shot Wheatcroft's testicles with a stun gun and instead says he was zapped in the thigh.
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2:50 p.m.
A lawyer for an Arizona man who was repeatedly shocked with a stun gun by suburban Phoenix police during a 2017 traffic stop says the man did nothing to provoke it.
Attorney Marc Victor said Monday that his client Johnny Wheatcroft was compliant and it was "egregious" that Glendale police did nothing to stop the abuse which has led to a suit over alleged excessive force.
The lawyer spoke out a day after posting body camera footage from the encounter online.
The then 37-year-old Wheatcroft was seated next to a friend who was driving to a motel on July 26, 2017, when police stopped them.
Police say officers pulled over the car because of a traffic violation and discovered the driver didn't have a license.
Wheatcroft declined to show police his driver's license and questioned why he had to provide identification.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019