In the latest example of state-sanctioned terrorism, a throng of cops broke into the home of a family in Utah without a warrant, tasering a 57-year-old man out of spite and malice for not welcoming them into his home when they showed up with riot shields, battering rams and a litany of lies as to why they should be let in.
The cops were from the Utah Division of Adult Probation & Parole and were looking for the man’s son, José Yañez, who had not lived at the house for at least a year.
And the cops seemed to have known that because the address listed on their arrest warrant differed from his parent’s address which is why they deliberately left the warrant behind when they conducted the raid, according to a lawsuit filed last week by the ACLU on behalf of the family.
The incident took place in August 2018 and began when Munir Yañez, the father, would not let them into his home without a warrant. One cop kept showing Yañez a document claiming to be a warrant but the lawsuit states it was probably just a front page to their son’s internal files.
The cops did not give up, threatening, bullying and intimidating him until they finally made their way inside the house where tasered the father, shoved the mother to the ground with a shield and handcuffed the kids to keep them from recording.
The cops placed the father and son facedown in handcuffs in their front yard in full display of their neighbors who had no idea what was going on, keeping them there for two-and-a-half hours while they ransacked the house.
While he was handcuffed in the front yard, one cop took his fingerprints against his will. They then transported Yañez, who is an American citizen, to jail, mocking him by telling him he would be deported the following day but releasing him the following day with no charges.
The cops seemed more intent on sending a sadistic message of control and dominance, probably thinking since the family was Mexican and the parents spoke little English that they would get away with it all as cops do daily across the country.
But both the father and one of his sons recorded the abuse which makes it a much stronger case in court– not that any of the individual officers have anything to worry about as they are a protected class.
The 62-page lawsuit which can be read here also accuses the Utah Division of Adult Probation & Parole of conspiring with a local bond company to conduct the raid which was desperate to arrest Jose Yañez because he was about to default on his bond, which would come at a financial loss for the company.
Even after it became clear to Defendants that José was not in the home, Defendants threatened to return to the home if they could not locate José on the day of the raid.
On information and belief, the events of August 20, 2018 are the result of a pattern and practice of AP&P allowing bail bond company agents to coopt AP&P tactical teams in an effort to conduct violent raids on residences in search of fugitives who are close to defaulting on bonds and costing the bail bond companies money.
In particular, at the time of the events of August 20, 2018, José had defaulted or was soon to default on his bond. Given that the AP&P had previously appeared at Plaintiffs’ home in search of José with a bond company agent at a time previously when José was close to defaulting his bond, this belief is well founded.
Watch the shortened edited video above or the longer videos compiled by the ACLU. Click here and scroll to bottom to watch video interviews with both the mother and father translated into English.
