Huntington to Pay $42,500 to Settle Search Lawsuit

HUNTINGTON BEACH — The city has agreed to pay $42,500 to a man who alleged that police officers violated his constitutional rights when they threw him to the ground at his home while searching for a woman who used to live there, the man’s attorney said Tuesday.

Enrique Basulto filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana last year claiming that Huntington Beach police officers Neil Spector and R. Calabuig unlawfully detained and shoved him to the ground in the Jan. 26, 1995 incident.

The officers had an arrest warrant for Alicia B. Hula, a relative of Basulto’s, but did not have a search warrant, according to Basulto’s attorney, Jerry L. Steering.

“When the officers entered Basulto’s home, one of the officers shoved Basulto to the ground and stood over him . . . while the other officer searched the home” for the relative, Steering said Tuesday. The relative was not found.

It was not immediately clear why police were looking for Hula, who had stayed at Basulto’s home for a short time several months before the incident.

Steering characterized the settlement as “sufficient compensation,” adding, “the city admitted to having wronged Mr. Basulto.”

City and police officials could not be reached Tuesday to comment on the settlement.

In the lawsuit, Basulto alleged the officers violated his 4th Amendment right to due process, and that their actions “were malicious, oppressive [and] despicable.”

According to the lawsuit, police “pounded on Basulto’s door and demanded entry.” When Basulto opened the door, one of the officers shined a flashlight into his eyes and told him to get to the ground. Before he could respond, he was thrown to the ground, the lawsuit said.