The Phoenix City Council has resolved two high-profile excessive force cases with settlements, allocating a total of $410,000 to the claimants without admitting any wrongdoing. ABC15 reported that the family of Adam Vespoli, who died after a Phoenix Officer shot him, will receive $350,000. In another case, Mariah Valenzuela, subjected to rough treatment during a traffic stop, was awarded a $60,000 settlement.
The incident involving Vespoli occurred when Phoenix Officer Donnell Lino responded to a call about a man sleeping on a Valley bus. Body camera footage showed Vespoli getting into the driver's seat of Lino's patrol car before being chased by the officer and shot as he attempted to drive away. Though Lino, who later resigned, would not face criminal charges, the medical examiner's report confirmed a bullet lodged in Vespoli's head resulted in his death before the patrol car he commandeered slowly crashed across the street. "He executed my son because he was upset, mad, [and] angry that someone got into his patrol car," Mike Vespoli, Adam's father, told ABC15.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, led by Interim County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, completed a thorough investigation and cleared Officer Lindo of any criminal wrongdoing. During a sit-down with ABC15, Mitchell said, "I'm looking at [it] from the perspective of the law and perspective of a jury. Are they going to convict this officer of a homicide charge for stopping a man from driving a stolen police cruiser into the stream of traffic?" The decision not to file charges, however, has stirred controversy and debates regarding police officers' use of force and the different standards that apply to law enforcement compared to civilians.
Related to the incident involving Mariah Valenzuela, the officer in question was accused of using excessive force during a 2020 traffic stop. Valenzuela, who was unable to produce her driver's license, was taken to the ground and slammed against a side of a vehicle by the DUI officer. The internal investigation by Phoenix police found no misconduct, an outcome that has raised questions about the rigor of such departmental reviews and the standards to which officers are held accountable. Despite this, the City Council's hefty payout seems to suggest a tacit acknowledgment of wrongdoing, or at the very least an interest in mitigating further legal action and public outcry.
