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KING CITY, Calif.- Necessary, or excessive use of force? That's the question the Monterey County District Attorney's Office is looking into after a video surfaced, showing a King City police officer taking down a suspect at the station.
In January of last year a 16 year old was arrested by King City police for being drunk in public. Police video shows him being booked at the police department.
Now the Monterey County District Attorney's Office is investgating whether officers acted appropriately when the teen was booked.
"We assigned an investigator and the investigator has interviewed people and there's potential video that may be involved...That's part of what I'll be doing is reviewing the video," said assistant district attorney Terry Spitz.
Central Coast News was given this video that shows the event. The officers took the teen's mugshot and pictures of his tattoos, something common to identify gang affiliation.
At one point, the officer takes the teen to the ground with a sweeping leg kick. A source close to the family claims his ankle was broken, and the officers didn't request medical attention.
The DA's office said it was notified of the incident a few months ago by other King City police officers. The officer under investigation has not been put on leave and the chief turned the investigation over to the DA's office.
"Over the years we've prosecuted a number of cases of officers using excessive force. It's not common, but at the same time it's not unknown," said Spitz.
Central Coast News is waiting to hear from the family's attorney as there is talk of a possible civil lawsuit.
