Jury rules in favor of WVC officer in excessive-force lawsuit | Crime

A federal jury deliberated for more than six hours Thursday evening before ruling West Valley Police officer, Jared Cardon, is not guilty of using excessive force during a traffic stop last July.

Cesar Medina sued officer Cardon for punitive damages after he was thrown down by the officer and suffered bodily injury during his arrest. Medina was seeking $35,000 to $75,000 in damages.

After the jury found Cardon not guilty the officer showed obvious relief standing up from his seat and hugging his family.

Cardon’s wife, Heather White, says she thought the jury did not rely mainly on the officer’s dash camera recording that showing Medina being thrown to the ground by Cardon.

Cardon defended his action stating that Medina had tried resisting arrest and allegedly tried to run away when he pulled him over, which was not caught on video because he says there was a 30 second delay prior to the start of the recording.