A local family whose son was injured in a traffic collision Aug. 19 is accusing the Menifee Police Department of excessive use of force against the accident victim.
Charlotte Kent told Menifee 24/7 her son Latrell Kent, 26, of Murrieta was a front-seat passenger in the BMW that traveled over the center median of Newport Road and struck an oncoming Kia head-on near Derby Hill Drive about 8:41 p.m. that night. According to an MPD press release, the driver of the Kia – later identified as 67-year-old William Garduno of Lake Elsinore – died in the collision.
The Aug. 20 press release also reported that the cause of the collision was under investigation, that “the driver and passenger of the BMW provided statements to officers before being released,” and that “the adult male passenger of that vehicle remains in stable condition in a local hospital.”
Charlotte Kent told Menifee 24/7 this week that her son Latrell was forcibly removed from the BMW as he regained consciousness from the collision and was beaten and tased by officers before being arrested and handcuffed. She said he was taken to Inland Valley Hospital with a brain bleed, broken nose and broken jaw and was released from custody after being admitted.
Latrell was released from the hospital on Aug. 22. Then, according to Charlotte and jail records, he was re-arrested by police immediately after leaving his room and was taken to the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, where jail records show he was booked that night.
Those jail records originally showed that Latrell was assigned an Aug. 31 court date for a probation violation. His mother acknowledged that he is a felon on probation. Riverside County court records list several previous felony cases against him – most recently in July, when he was charged with possession of a controlled substance for sale. He was out on bail awaiting an Oct. 20 hearing on that case.
Thursday afternoon, Menifee Police Chief Dave Gutierrez emailed Menifee 24/7 the following statement:
“We can confirm that after officers initially made contact with Mr. Kent, he became assaultive toward officers, resulting in officers having to utilize force to gain control of him. As required by standard procedure, the incident is being administratively reviewed to ensure compliance with department policy and procedures.
“Mr. Kent is facing charges of felony resisting a police officer and violation of parole. No other information will be released at this time.”
However, Kent was again released Thursday night and his Aug. 31 court date was taken off the calendar. Gutierrez on Friday referred additional questions to the District Attorney, who did not respond.
It is unclear what possible actions Kent could face for his parole violation.
A video taken by a witness at the accident scene (shown here) appears to show officers on the ground struggling with someone, but it doesn’t show the beginning of the altercation. Charlotte Kent said her son has no memory of the incident, and it is unclear if the injuries were caused by the collision, the altercation with officers, or both.
“My son had just been involved in a very serious collision and was injured,” Charlotte Kent wrote in an email to Menifee 24/7. “During the police interaction at the scene, officers pulled him from the vehicle, used physical force against him, and deployed a taser. There are videos from the scene showing this interaction.
“Following the accident, my son was transported to the hospital and admitted to the ICU with a brain bleed and other injuries. This is particularly concerning to me because he had just experienced significant trauma from the collision when the police interaction occurred.”
In a phone interview on Thursday, Charlotte said, “What they did was inexcusable. Now they’re trying to make it seem like it never happened. If they think he was resisting arrest, it was because he was just in an accident and was confused.”
According to Charlotte, the driver of the BMW told her he looked down to adjust the air conditioning and became distracted, causing the vehicle to drift over the median and into oncoming traffic. He was interviewed by police at the scene and released.
The driver, who asked that his name and age not be released, would not discuss the cause of the accident and said he was in contact with a lawyer. He would only say that he confirmed Charlotte’s account of the incident, adding that Latrell had just regained consciousness and was seated in the vehicle when police pulled him out.
The driver said he believes that perhaps officers recognized Latrell from prior incidents before allegedly using excessive force.
“I think they know him,” he said. “From what I heard other cops saying, they know him from before. They had it in for him.”
