Anaheim Settles Police Brutality Lawsuit Filed By Ringling Brothers Circus Protester


An Orange County man who accused Anaheim cops of committing police brutality during a 2010 animal rights protest of Ringling Brothers Circus at the Honda Center has won a settlement from the city before a federal jury could consider the case.

In his 2011 lawsuit, Bryan Monell claimed that he was videotaping the arrest of another protester when officer Christopher Pena got upset that his actions were being recorded, tackled Monell, caused a serious injury, confiscated the camera and then locked him in jail for more than 26 hours by falsely accusing him of interfering with a police officer and resisting arrest.
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Monell, who has protested animal cruelty hundreds of times without
incident, suffered “a gash in his neck that required hospitalization and
stitches,” according to the lawsuit that also accused officers Jonathan Kirkpatrick and Angelica Mejia of violating his rights.

Federal
court records show that Monell received undisclosed damages in exchange
for him dropping the lawsuit that would have been heard in U.S.
District Court Judge James V. Selna's Santa Ana courtroom.


A four-day trial had been scheduled for October.

Go HERE to read the Weekly's Matt Coker previously report on animal cruelty questions at the circus.

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