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Paso Robles cop’s use of force: Still hurts one year later

August 18, 2011

A woman who stole a bottle of water on a hot 90-plus degree day and was thrown to the baking asphalt by a Paso Robles cop, and held there as she pleaded to be moved off the pavement, still suffers from the trauma and burns a year later. [New Times]

Rodia Monterrosobragg, who goes by the name Rodi Bragg, carries the scars from that day, July 30, 2010, and has been to doctors for treatment of the burns, as well as receiving help from a therapist for anxiety, depression and Post Traumatic Disorder.

New Times reporter Colin Rigley obtained video of the incident showing Officer Jeffry Bromby cutting through daytime traffic, dodging cars on the road, responding to a call about a shoplifter who had been detained and was being combative with employees.

Upon his arrival, Bromby tried pulling Bragg, who had been sitting on the ground, up to her feet. He told her to put her hands behind her back so that he could put her in handcuffs.

She started for the curb, pleading: “I need my shoes.”

Bromby violently yanked her back and said: “You know what? You’re gonna go down again.” Then, without any apparent provocation, he grabbed her by the back of the neck and threw her to the ground.

According to court records filed by Bragg’s public defender, the temperature that day hit 93 degrees. And Bromby held Bragg face down, bare armed, lying on asphalt that had been baking in the afternoon sun. Despite her asking to be let up numerous times, he held her there.

“OK, well maybe you’ll learn,” Bromby responded to Bragg’s pleas.

Bragg continued to squirm and begged to be allowed off the ground.

“Please—officer please—this is really hot,” she said.

Paso Police Chief Lisa Solomon reviewed Bragg’s video and issued a brief statement—though no condemnation—about Bromby’s actions.

“While the use of force in this case is deemed within policy to gain control of the prisoner, it is unfortunate that it took place on a hot surface,” she said in a prepared statement. “There were other options the officer could have considered in handling the prisoner after the take-down that might have resulted in a better outcome.”


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I am very much against police brutality but look at the video before passing judgement.


http://www.newtimesslo.com/cover/6489/pasos-cop-headache/


The officer did code 3 to the scene knowing that a combative shoplifter was being detained by store employees. If I were that store employee I would want someone there fast!


Bromby approached the detainee and IMO asked politely to put their hands behind their back.

One of the store employees stated emphatically that she was EXTREMELY COMBATIVE.


And by the way she was sitting on the so called HOT pavement with no apparent problem when the cop drove up.


She refused to be cuffed and then tried to BITE the officer! That’s when things escalated and IMO, rightfully so.


Even Chief Solomon’s statement “that there were other options….” is more honest than most police statements have seen regarding similar accounts.


The real problem is Rodia Monterrosobragg! I bet it’s not her first time stealing and this time she put store employees safety at risk.


The story NEVER mentions what she was eventually charged with and what sentence she got!


See the video…

http://www.newtimesslo.com/cover/6489/pasos-cop-headache/


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I saw the NEW TIMES video but did NOT READ the whole story.


I wish I had before I posted those comments.


I stand corrected on several points.


READ http://www.newtimesslo.com/cover/6489/pasos-cop-headache/


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Thanks for posting the link.


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The driving was flat out reckless. Felony manslaughter waiting to happen to someone’s loved one. The perp deserved a take-down for trying to pull away, but didn’t deserve being severely burned. She deserves compensation, but I wouldn’t go crazy paying off all the mental claims of a thief. Her hands are dirty as well.


I have serious concerns about our D.A. as well.


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Which points do you stand correct on?


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She was crazy before taking the bottle of water. No claim for her if I’m the judge. I feel bad for her, the cop was a jerk and should be reprimanded at best. She was in part to blame for her trauma and completely at fault for swiping the water and giving store staff a hard time, no money at all for her. Maybe they should compensate her with a case of bottled water.


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So THAT’S where Bromby went?! I remember him when he was a youngster cop, shaving his head down in Grover City! Just have to love that Code 3 driving, risking the citizens lives all the way there and at every intersection!


All for a bottle of water?


Just gotta love these Brown Shirt types.


And again, all of this over a .99 bottle of water. No doubt the perp is a douche-nugget for petty theft but I also find it pretty nuts that the shopkeep and rest of the group would chase down a perp for a bottle of water.


Pretty incredible stuff.


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How much did that bottle of water cost the store after having to pay the employees to stand and wait for the officers, give their statements, etc….


Would have been less costly to write it off as a stolen bottle of water. But, the point is, she stole from the store. Nothing else matters. She is a petty criminal who deserved the burn she got. Right?


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Wonder of this type of “public service” plays any part in the “2011 had the most police officer deaths” story we read recently?? Naaaaa, couldent be could it?


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Sorry. I looked at the video and didn’t see that the officer was out of line. I’m sure he didn’t realize how hot the pavement was, or he wouldn’t have put her stomach down. I’ve never heard of someone getting burns from the asphalt when it’s 93 degrees (but I could be wrong). She was combative with the store employees, tried to run when the officer was just trying to put the cuffs on, and generally wouldn’t do what the officer wanted.


This is the kind of trash that officers put up with everyday. You order them to turn around and they try to get away. Why can’t people just comply with the simple demands, instead of escalating minor events into physical affairs.


I would doubt that the woman’s injuries were due to the officer, and would look at what kind of settlement she is trying to get. I would think ,and admittedly I don’t know, that someone wants to avoid working for the rest of her life.


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I don’t condone Rodi’s combative behavior. But surely the officer was smart enough to know that on a 90+ degree day in Paso, the pavement’s gonna feel many degrees hotter, especially on bare skin.


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Clearly she was burned badly. Looks like 3rd degree to me. Clearly, the audio indicates she begged the officer to get her off the hot pavement. Clearly, the officer knew it was hot that day. The guy in the red shirt kept wiping his brow…The officer also left her in the car, suffering from her burns, while completing his fact gathering.


The moment he realized it was a hot surface, he should have regarded HER safety and relocated her. But that would have been too humane for a person who just stole water on a hot day.


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The New Times is saying that he is now a “former PR cop”. Big deal, he cost PR a law suit and he went down the road only to be hired by the next brotherhood. That guy has a screw loose, thank goodness for video, it’s our last line of defense against some of these wacko’s. I know they aren’t all bad but if they would clean out their own, they would all have more respect. No one knows who the bad cops are better than the cops themselves.


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NO EXCUSE for that behavior. NONE


Bromby doesn’t just need to go, he needs to be prosecuted. Solomon, your a real piece of work, the only person that needed and still needs to be taken “control of” is Bromby and YOU. Go ahead, go put on your pants and parade around with the word “JUICY” plastered across you’re a$$ again. No doubt a couple of boy’s on the CC appreciated that spectacle or was it dancing on the bar tables of a local tavern, what ever, they obviously like it, after all your still around.


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Shameful.


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Reason 1,539 why Paso Police Chief Lisa Solomon Chitty needs to GO.


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