Man Sues Concord Police Officer In Alleged Road Rage Incident
CONCORD (KPIX 5) – An Oakland man filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Tuesday against a Concord police officer for an alleged case of road rage that led to a broken arm.
According to the lawsuit, William Weiland and off-duty officer Kevin Mansourian bumped cars along Highway 24 in Orinda just east of the Caldecott Tunnel on February 17th.
When the two men pulled over to exchange insurance information, the lawsuit alleged that Mansourian charged at Weiland, who was 63-years-old at the time of the incident. Mansourian then screamed profanities, including "What the f--- are you doing?" and then identified himself as an off-duty officer.
According to the lawsuit, Weiland asked to see the officer's badge, but Mansourian claimed he did not have it on his person. At that point, Weiland claimed Mansourian threw him down.
"Grabbed him, slammed him to the ground face first," said Genevieve Guertin, an attorney representing Weiland in the lawsuit.
"Our client's face was cut and one of his hearing aids was dislodged and in that assault, our client's arm was broken. And our client, keep in mind, is a 63-year-old man [at the time]," Guertin told KPIX 5.
Weiland's attorney said the police officer sat on her client as they waited for the California Highway Patrol to arrive.
"My client has a heart condition and asked him not to put so much weight on top of him, but the defendant did not relent and continued to sit on him for some time until the CHP arrived," Guertin said.
Mansourian told sheriff's deputies that it was not road rage. Instead, he thought Weiland might have been drunk. But investigators on the scene found no such evidence and set Weiland free without charges.
Guertin said Weiland is suing Mansourian and the City of Concord for wrongful arrest and excessive force, which are federal civil rights violations. He is asking for unspecified damages and may eventually ask for injunctive relief in the form of policy changes at the Concord Police Department.
Concord City Attorney Mark Coon told KPIX 5 that he does not comment on pending litigation, but said the city will defend the lawsuit.
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