WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Dec. 28, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — An attorney for the family of Atonio Savatia, who was critically injured on Dec. 6, 2020 after an encounter with West Valley City Police, says he is filing a complaint against the WVCPD and the specific officer involved.
West Valley Police officers said at the time that they responded to the area of 4000 S. Redwood Road and found a man “breaking windows, yelling, screaming.”
Lt. M.T. Johnson, with the West Valley City Police Department, said officers made an attempt to contact with the man, but he fled from them.
“They chased him into the road and were attempting to get him into custody, when a car came along and ended up hitting the suspect and one of our officers,” Johnson told Gephardt Daily at the scene.
The complaint
The complaint filed by attorney Robert B. Sykes claims suspect Antonio Savatia had been Tased by police before he was struck.
“A West Valley City PD officer followed Atonio Savatia onto Redwood Road just after midnight on Dec. 6, 2020, after he had a non-violent argument with his girlfriend,” Sykes said in a press release.
“As Atonio was crossing Redwood Road, the officer Tased him in the back without warning, causing him to fall on his back in Lane One (the inside lane) of the southbound traffic, with his head pointed north so he could not see oncoming traffic. After Atonio regained control of his muscles, he was commanded by the Officer Fox to stay where he was and not move, despite oncoming traffic on a very busy Salt Lake County road. Atonio obeyed.
“Traffic was whizzing by in other lanes. No effort was made to: A) move Atonio just a few feet to safety, or B) to block lane one, where Atonio lay unaware of his peril.”
Sykes says that police video shows a car had stopped in lane one, north of Savatia.
“A short time later, that car starts up and runs over Atonio, dragging him 20 or 30 feet underneath the car, and coming to rest on his head. Atonio has suffered catastrophic brain and bodily injuries, resulting in massive losses in brain and bodily function. He is in a care facility where he will likely remain the rest of his life.”
The complaint seeks general and compensatory damages, and punitive damages as determined by a jury trial. It also seeks attorney fees.
See the complaint document below.
Antonio Savatia compalint
