(April 26) A video that is purported to show a Yucca Valley motorcyclist being physically abused by Yucca Valley’s highest ranking law enforcement officer while the Yucca Valley town manager and assistant town manager look on is making the rounds in this desert municipality of 20,700 on Highway 62.
On the afternoon of March 13, sheriff’s captain Richard Boswell and sheriff’s lieutenant Brad Toms were accompanying Yucca Valley Town Manager Mark Nuaimi and assistant town manager Shane Stueckle as they were surveying road conditions on Linda Lee Drive.
At about 3:45 p.m., Jason Arrona, 37, was riding his dirt bike in the 5800 block of Linda Lee Drive when he had a close encounter with the four. According to a sheriff’s report of the incident, one of the sheriff’s officers motioned for Arrona to stop but Arrona accelerated, coming so close to the officer that the motorcycle’s rear tire struck a book the officer was carrying.
Arrona, who later claimed he lost control of the motorcycle when he “hard braked,” went down on the unpaved road, with the bike landing off to the side.
Both Boswell and Toms hastened to where the fallen motorcyclist lay sprawled on the road. Within a short period of time, a nearby resident, Robert Dean Nelson, activated a video camera and shot footage showing the officers as they sought to detain what appears to be an already incapacitated Arrona.
In the video’s opening frame, Arrona is motionless, face down on the unpaved ground with a dirt bike style motorcycle lying roughly six feet beyond him. Captain Boswell, perched over Arrona on the right side, has his left hand on Arrona’s back, holding Arrona’s right arm at a right angle behind his back. Lieutenant Toms, positioned on Arrona’s left side, is using his right hand to hold Arrona’s left forearm against the small of his back.
With his right hand, Boswell grasps Arrona’s hair and yanks Arrona’s head up, arching Arrona’s neck and head backwards and then forcefully and rapidly pushes Arrona’s head toward the ground. Arrona’s left leg and foot spasmodically jerk up into the air. Boswell then releases Arrona’s hair and uses his right arm to pull Arrona’s right arm further up behind his back in a pain compliance hold. Boswell can be heard telling the fallen motorcyclist that he had assaulted him. Arrona insistently responds that he did not.
Toms, with his right knee and right hand on Arrona’s back, takes what appears to be a cell phone with his left hand from his shirt pocket and attempts but then appears to abort a cell phone call.
With the still prone Arrona’s arms pinned up at an extreme angle behind his back, Boswell stands up, entrusting Toms to keep Arrona in place and heads toward his vehicle parked more than 100 feet away. The camera pans after him, showing both Nuaimi and Stueckle within close proximity to where Arrona is lying on the ground. When the camera pans back to Arrona and Toms, it can be seen that with just his right hand, Toms is able to keep Arrona’s arms sharply pinned against his back and he again utilizes his cell phone to place a call with his left hand. A minute and eleven seconds after Boswell headed toward the sheriff’s vehicle, he returns with a set of handcuffs, which he then gives to Toms, who cuffs Arrona, who is yet lying face down in the dirt.
Subsequently, Boswell notices Nelson and begins questioning him about his videotaping of the incident, including trying to ascertain if the video had an audio component. Nelson, who is not seen on the video, can be heard responding to Boswell’s questions.
Arrona was taken to the Morongo Basin Jail and booked on three warrants, including a no-bail warrant for possession of a controlled substance. He was charged by the district attorney with battery against a peace officer and arraigned on March 15. After serving 28 days in jail, he entered a guilty plea at his pretrial hearing on April 11 and was released with time served.
Yucca Valley residents have been emailing the video to other members of the community.
Nelson’s video has been posted on youtube at the URLs http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=r1HWSdRQmHE  and http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=ux5Yw2N1p_8&NR=1.