Expert: LCPD officer violated six holding cell policies

According to an expert witness, the former Las Cruces Police officer seen on video beating a detainee violated six holding cell policies the night of the incident.

Manuel Overby is a use of force expert at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. He testified Wednesday in the trial of former police officer Richard Garcia, who pleaded not guilty to aggravated battery resulting in great bodily injury.

Security camera footage shows Garcia and another officer throwing a handcuffed detainee against the wall and slamming him onto the floor.

Overby said the detainee, Ross Flynn, should not have been in the holding cell at the Las Cruces Police Department to begin with.

According to testimony, officers told Flynn he was being detained. In court Wednesday, Overby said only individuals under arrested should be held in a cell. He said according to policy, officers should have removed their weapons before entering the holding cell and should not have the left the door propped open.

Overby said, at that time, Garcia should have been watching a female detainee who was being held in a separate cell. He added all detainees should be chained to a bench once they are immediately placed in a holding cell. Flynn was not.

The video shows Flynn kick the cell door, then officers rush in and grab him.

“I was trying to comply with what they wanted but the officers were, one was pulling me one way one was pulling me the other they didn’t seem to be able to coordinate their attack,” Flynn said.

The defense argues Garcia entered the cell to fix the violation of policy and chain Flynn to the bench. But Overby said he sees things differently.

“It appears as though they did not enter the cell with the clear objective to chain him to the bench, but in my opinion it appears as though they entered the cell to punish Mr Flynn,” Overby said.

The defense argues Flynn was previously non-compliant with officers while being taken into custody, and when Flynn kicked the cell door, Garcia was trying to de-escalate the situation.

The trial of the second former officer in the video, Danny Salcido, is set to take place in three weeks.