The Hesperia man who videotaped a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy telling him that he would “create something” to arrest him if he didn’t leave the substation in Victorville when he came there on January 20 to file a domestic complaint is in the process of filing a lawsuit over the matter.
On January 18, Duncan Hicks phoned in to the Victorville sheriff’s station a complaint relating to the mother of his child. That complaint was fielded by deputy Michael Bradbury. Two days later, Hicks came to the Victorville station in person to lodge another complaint against his one-time domestic partner, this time because, he said, he had material evidence in the form of a statement made by a child care worker at a licensed child care facility with regard to his child’s mother harassing the workers at the facility.
At that point, Hicks was foiled in his effort to lodge the complaint when Bradbury, Hicks said, told him he would not take the report and that Hicks should “take it up in mediation court.” Hicks said he went to his car and, after thinking it over, went back into the station with his cell phone on video mode to capture, he said, “how they were treating me.” When the clerk on duty gave him a copy of the incident report which contained only the date and time of his presence in the station without any reference to his statement, Hicks hailed Bradbury, who is seen and heard on Hick’s cell phone video threatening to arrest Hicks on trumped up charges if he does not leave.
The video, which Hicks said shows “exactly what happened” was uploaded to Facebook and YouTube, and has been broadcast by several major cable news stations.
The Sentinel has learned that Hicks has retained Riverside-based attorney Raj Patel and “a team” to seek damages from the sheriff’s department and Bradbury for duress encountered when he was threatened. Hicks said he will also seek a restraining order against Bradbury to prohibit him from attending Hicks on the phone or in person at the substation.