A Richmond man has filed a lawsuit against Contra Costa County and the sheriff’s deputies whom he says beat him when he was unconscious and then lied in police reports to justify booking him on charges of resisting arrest.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court Monday, alleges that early on May 5, 2018, Ricardo Hernandez, then 19, was a backseat passenger in a stolen car with his friends. Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Battles noticed the car didn’t have its lights on. He learned it was stolen and stopped the car, calling on other deputies for backup.

When the people in the car were all removed at gunpoint, Hernandez complied with orders to walk backward with his hands on his head, the lawsuit states, but Battles placed him in a “carotid hold” — a type of neck restraint — until Hernandez lost consciousness.

Video from a police body camera reviewed by this news organization shows some of the scene of the arrest, including a clip where at least one deputy can be heard saying “he’s out, he’s out, he’s out.”

The lawsuit argues that when the deputy said “he’s out,” referring to Hernandez, Battles knew that meant Hernandez was unconscious but that Battles continued to instruct him to give his left hand to be handcuffed.

After the deputies repeatedly demand Hernandez “stop resisting” in the video, one can be seen hitting him with a flashlight.

The lawsuit alleges that Battles struck Hernandez in the head and neck six times with his flashlight, and another deputy, Joseph Anderson, beat Hernandez’s right shoulder area.

“I will (expletive) shoot you,” a deputy’s voice can be heard saying in the video.

According to the lawsuit, that voice belongs to Battles, who withdrew his firearm and put the tip of it on Hernandez’s “unconscious” head.

While Hernandez was taken to a hospital and then booked into jail, Battles and Anderson “falsely” stated in their reports that Hernandez was flailing his arms, the suit alleges. Hernandez, the lawsuit emphasizes, was actually unconscious.

The lawsuit also says Chance Lopes and a man it identifies at Lieutenant Wooden, who it says both supervised the deputies, were at the scene but did not intervene to stop. It also lists unnamed “Does 1-25” as defendants.

The deputies named in the lawsuit could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office, Jimmy Lee, declined to comment, referring requests to the office of the Contra Costa County Counsel. That office referred requests for comment back to the sheriff’s office.

Hernandez was not charged in connection with the stolen car. Rather, he was charged only with resisting arrest, in violation of California Penal Code Section 148, but the criminal charge was dismissed in late December 2019, according to a spokesman for the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.

Scott Alonso, of the District Attorney’s Office, said that after reviewing evidence, including video, the prosecutor dropped the charges “in the interest of justice.”

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Editorial: Despite quirks, San Jose voters should approve Measure G Stanley Goff, an attorney representing Hernandez, said the criminal charge that was ultimately dropped is part of a “troubling tactic or strategy” by police to ward off accusations of officers using excessive force.

“This is a law enforcement trend used across California,” Goff said in an interview. “Without question, if you see a case involving excessive force, looking deeper … (the person) was most likely charged with PC 148.”

The lawsuit seeks general, compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal fees and any other relief the court “deems fit and proper.”

The claim accuses the county of having “sanctioned and ratified” both the deputies’ use of excessive force and the deputies’ alleged tactics in filing charges of resisting arrest. The county, the lawsuit says, “failed to train and supervise its Deputies properly to ensure that they only arrest people for violating Penal Code Section 148 when such charges are warranted and not to cover up police abuse.”