Denunzio Pleads Not Guilty; New Allegations Surface Against Santa Barbara Police Officer
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/120911_tony_denunzio_aaron_tudor/
By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @magnoli
Attorney says two women plan to file complaints against Officer Aaron Tudor in separate incidents related to suspected DUI traffic stops
The driver at the center of a community controversy over alleged excessive use of force by Santa Barbara police was arraigned on charges of driving under the influence Thursday, and now two women have come forward with explosive allegations against the arresting officer.
On the night of Oct. 21, police Officer Aaron Tudor pulled over Tony Denunzio, 50, of Santa Barbara, on suspicion of driving under the influence. After the stop in the Loreto Plaza parking lot, Denunzio got out of his truck, which prompted a physical response by Tudor, who hit, kicked and repeatedly Tasered the suspect. Some of the confrontation was captured by a dashboard camera in Tudor’s police car.
Tudor and police officials say Denunzio was resisting arrest. Denunzio and a number of eyewitnesses say he was not resisting and that Tudor’s response was excessive.
At his arraignment Thursday, Denunzio pleaded not guilty to DUI and related charges and he denied all special allegations, according to his attorney, Darryl Genis.
After the hearing at Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Genis told KEYT that one woman claims Tudor broke her arm during a traffic stop and another woman claims Tudor stalked her.
According to Genis, the women were reportedly pulled over by Tudor on Nov. 17 and 18. He said the women, in their 20s or 30s, are both filing formal complaints with the Santa Barbara Police Department. By law, every complaint is investigated by SBPD’s Internal Affairs department.
“We are aware of what the allegations are because of what Mr. Genis said in open court today, but other than that we have not received anything,” Police Chief Cam Sanchez said.
“As soon as we do we will certainly get right on it.”
The first woman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and she claims Tudor pushed her into the side of a car and pulled her arm back so hard to handcuff her that it was broken, Genis told Noozhawk.
The second woman, also apparently involved in a driving under the influence case, was taken to jail instead of being cited and released from the sobering center, Genis said. The next morning, after she was released, Genis said Tudor sent her messages on Facebook insinuating they should “hang out.”
“It’s not what he says when he’s contacting her on Facebook, it’s the fact that he is contacting a woman he arrested the night before,” said Genis, who said he did not feel it is appropriate to release the women’s names at this time.
KEYT has known about one of the alleged victims for weeks but reported Thursday that she had “declined to talk about the details about what happened until she retains an attorney.”
In Denunzio’s case, a Dec. 17 hearing is set to hear Genis’ motion to dismiss the case, based on the arguments that police did not have a reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle and no probable cause to arrest Denunzio.
An investigation by the District Attorney’s Office did not find sufficient admissible evidence to file either resisting arrest charges against Denunzio or excessive force charges against Tudor. An internal investigation is under way against Tudor, although Police Chief Cam Sanchez has said he did nothing wrong.
A few witnesses to Denunzio’s arrest have filed citizen complaints and the internal affairs investigation into Tudor is not finished yet, Sanchez said.
Denunzio is facing charges of driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08, driving on a suspended license and allegations related to two prior convictions for alcohol-related driving offenses. In a separate case, he is facing domestic violence charges.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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