April 19, 2021- 11:04 p.m.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A 46-year-old Tempe man sued the Scottsdale Police Department alleging that it used excessive force during a 2020 traffic stop. Andy Dominguez filed the lawsuit in January after he was pulled over by Scottsdale police officer Daniel Koller while Dominguez was in a hurry to get to another job.
The interaction between Dominguez and Koller, which was recorded on the officer’s body camera, quickly became confrontational, the lawsuit alleged. “I saw you when I made a U-turn,” Dominguez told Koller.
“I know I didn’t break any laws.” “You know that you didn’t break any laws?” Koller responded. “So you’re saying that I’m violating your rights now?”
“I noticed that he was trying to provoke me,” Dominguez said. Dominguez accused Koller of repeatedly hitting him in the head and chest after he sat in his vehicle with his hands up and argued that the officer had no right or cause to demand him to step out of his vehicle. “Motherfucker, get out of the fucking car right now,” Koller is heard yelling on the police audio. “I am going to hurt you if you don’t get out of the car right now.”
“You keep hitting me,” Dominguez said on the video. Koller is still on the city’s payroll as the department’s investigation found that both his and the other responding officer’s use of force was “reasonable,” a city spokesperson said. In response to Patch’s request for comment, Kelly Corsette, who serves as the the city of Scottsdale’s communications & public affairs director, released the following statement:
“Due to active litigation, the City of Scottsdale will limit its comments regarding the arrest of, and subsequent lawsuit from, Mr. Andres Dominguez, which stems from an incident that occurred in January 2020.
