Police Allegedly Beat Man Accused of Drunk Driving

SANTA BARBARA - Police pulled over 50 year old Tony Denunzio on Friday just before 10 pm after following him from Hendry's beach, and the popular restaurant The Boathouse.  Sgt. Duarte of the SB Police department said that the police officer followed Denunzio in his black Chevy Pickup truck on Las Positas.  Authorities said that Denunzio allegedly changed lanes twice without signaling as a reason to pull him over.

One witness - Mike - who refused to provide his last name for fear of reprisals by the police said he was standing near the end of the Gelson's parking lot waiting for his friend to show up and join him at Harry's Bar and Grill.  "I knew it was going to be a scene as soon as they pulled into the parking lot.  The guy pulled in fast and unnecessarily drove through the parking lot past a bunch of open spaces, all the way around to the center parking row [while the police followed with lights flashing.]" 

Mike: "The guy kind just gets out of the car right away and the cop tells him to get back into the car and he turns around and tries to get back into the car.  But then the cop comes and tries to arrest him, putting his hands behind his back.  This all starts to happen middle of the street/parking lot.  The cop keeps yelling at him to lay on the ground and stop resisting, but the guy wasn't resisting him.  The cop kept socking him in the side.  And then he starting hitting him in the head.  [Denunzio] kept saying "What do you want me to do?"  There was a big crowd of people gathering around.  Poeple were yelling to the cop to stop and leave [Denunzio] alone.  I thought some of the poeple were going to jump in to protect the guy.  Then the cop pulls out a tazer and tazes him for at least a minute.  And he kept yelling at him to stop resisting, and [Denunzio] was saying "I'm not resisting!".  Then about eight police cars showed up and first guy [policeman] came running in and kneed [Denunzio] in the head and then three other cops came and arrested him."

According to the SB Police department the events unfolded slightly differently.  "The officer ordered Denunzio to get back into his vehicle.  Denunzio ignored the command and began to walk away, turning his back on the officer.  The officer took hold of Denunzio’s arm in order to prevent him from walking away.   Denunzio attempted to pull free from the officer’s hold.  The officer told Denunzio to get on the ground in order to handcuff him and place him under arrest.    The officer attempted to get Denunzio’s arm behind his back but was not able to do so because of Denunzio’s level of resistance.    The officer requested emergency back-up.  The officer then tripped Denunzio causing Denunzio to fall on his hands and knees.  The officer told Denunzio several times to stop resisting, but Denunzio continued to resist.  The officer then delivered several palm strikes to the back of Denunzio’s head.  The officer hoped this would distract Denunzio enough so he could place Denunzio’s arm behind his back.  The palm strikes were ineffective, and Denunzio continued to struggle and physically resist the officer.  The officer then delivered a knee strike to the area of Denunzio’s ribs.  The officer followed up with several hand strikes to Denunzio’s rib area.  During the struggle, the officer deployed his Taser several times in an attempt to get Denunzio to place his hands behind his back. Denunzio continued to resist, and the Taser had almost no effect on him.   Additional officers arrived to assist and noticed that the Taser was ineffective.  They observed that Denunzio was resisting by not placing his hands behind his back and tucking them underneath by his waist.  The officer believed that Denunzio could possibly be retrieving a weapon.  Even with additional officers, Denunzio continued to resist for over a minute before being subdued by the officers.  During the struggle, an officer delivered a knee strike to Denunzio’s face, which allowed the officers to handcuff him.  The officer who initiated the traffic stop on Denunzio could smell an odor of an intoxicant on Denunzio’s person during the incident."

Police said Denunzio was then taken into custody for DUI, Resisting Arrest, and Unlicensed Driver.   Denunzio refused to provide a chemical sample to obtain his blood alcohol level.  Officers, assisted by a nurse, had to obtain an involuntary blood sample at the Santa Barbara County Jail.  Denunzio was transported to Goleta Hospital where he was treated and released for his injuries.  His injuries consisted of a broken nose and complaint of pain to his ribs. 

Denunzio is currently on probation for DUI with probation terms stating that he shall not commit any criminal offense, refuse a BAC test, or drive a vehicle with alcohol in his blood.  He has also been convicted in the past of Reckless Driving.  Denunzio was driving without a valid license, which was suspended as a result of his previous DUI conviction. 

Denunzio’s resistance was captured on camera.  The patrol vehicle was equipped with a camera system that the police department is currently testing.  The Chief of Police is going to review the video in order to determine whether further investigation is warranted. 

Several witnesses were interviewed at the scene.  The police department encourages any members of the public that witnessed the incident to contact the police department at (805) 897-2347.