Come on - what 64 year old guy in a mini rams, a younger guy in a 2 x larger infinity ? I hope he collects a bundle !!
Man accuses off-duty Concord cop of road rage
Henry K. Lee
Updated 3:06 pm, Tuesday, December 3, 2013
 | |
Printable Version
Email This
Font
(12-03) 15:04 PST ORINDA -- An Oakland man filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Concord, saying an off-duty police officer deliberately rammed his Mini Cooper and broke his arm during a road rage incident.
The officer, though, told authorities that the Mini Cooper driver had been the aggressor.
Walther Weiland, 64, said Officer Kevin Mansourian cut him off Feb. 17 on westbound Highway 24 in Orinda as the lanes merged near the Caldecott Tunnel.
After Weiland tried to pull around Mansourian, the off-duty officer rammed his Infinitiinto Weiland's Mini Cooper, causing moderate damage, said the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Oakland.
Weiland alleged that when he got out of his car to exchange insurance information, Mansourian screamed, "What the f- are you doing? I'm an off-duty police officer!"
Weiland asked to see his police identification, but Mansourian refused and slammed him to the ground, holding him there until a California Highway Patrol officer arrived, the suit said.
Weiland suffered a broken arm and was never charged criminally in the incident, said his attorney Michael Haddad.
"Anytime someone breaks another person's arm in a road rage incident, there should be consequences," Haddad said. "We're concerned that just because he's an officer, that he might be getting away with this."
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, names the city of Concord, Police Chief Guy Swanger and Mansourian. Swanger declined comment Tuesday, other than to say that Mansourian was currently on the force as a motorcycle officer.
City Attorney Mark Coon also would not discuss the case.
In a report written by a Contra Costa County sheriff's deputy, Mansourian said Weiland had been straddling lanes on the freeway and had intentionally rammed him several times.
Mansourian said Weiland had an "unsteady gait" as he exited the car, the report said. The officer said he took Weiland to the ground because he had reached into his front pants pocket.
Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.comTwitter: @henryklee
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave your thoughts, I am always looking for new ideas.