Mother says excessive force used in son's arrest; struggle captured on cell phone video

Arrest struggle captured on cell phone video Arrest struggle captured on cell phone video Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Mother says excessive force used in son's arrest; struggle captured on cell phone video 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — The mother of a 20-year-old suspected marijuana dealer is questioning the amount of force that a plainclothes Stamford narcotics officer used to corral her son in an arrest at a Stamford Chinese restaurant that was captured on a cell phone video Tuesday.

Officer James Comstock was off-duty and in plainclothes when he wrestled with suspected marijuana dealer Justin Medina and drew his gun while taking Medina into custody Tuesday in China Xpress, 170 Selleck St. Comstock also pointed the gun at Mykell Mitchell, who was accompanying Medina.

“I am very shocked,” said Medina’s mother Andrea Medina.

Medina, 20, was charged with two counts of interfering with an officer and three drug offenses, including possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He has been held on $30,000 bond since his arrest. His next court date is July 31.

Police Chief Robert Nivakoff said there will be an administrative review of the arrest.

Comstock regularly patrols the Southwood Square area and has built a rapport with residents, many of whom refer to him as “Jim.” According to the warrant for Medina’s arrest, Comstock has known the Medina family for more than 15 years. Andrea Medina said her daughter babysat Comstock’s children, and Comstock helped her daughter get a job at Playland in New York.

“He works a lot in the community. At one point in time, I had a lot of respect for him,” she said. “After what he did to my son, I have no respect for him.”

Comstock was inside of China Xpress, in the back of the restaurant, interviewing employees on an unrelated investigation when Medina and Mykell Mitchell walked into the restaurant, police said.

Medina needed to relieve himself, so they stopped in the Chinese restaurant, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said Comstock approached him while Medina was in the restroom and said he needed to speak with Medina. Medina had a warrant for his arrest stemming from a July 9 incident in which he ran from officers who were trying to question him, police said. As Mitchell was about to leave, Medina came out of the restroom, and Comstock began to try and take him into custody.

The video, which was shot on a cell-phone camera, shows the officer draw his gun while wrestling Medina to the ground. In the process, he points the gun at Mitchell and orders him to the ground. While pressing his knee against Medina’s back, Comstock rests the barrel of the gun against Medina’s back.

“This is brutality and excessive force,” said Darnell Crosland, Medina’s attorney. “He had no business engaging these kids the way he did.”

Capt. Richard Conklin, who has seen the entire incident unfold on surveillance video, said the cell phone video released only shows a "limited view" of what happened. And in looking at just that 47 seconds of video, Conklin said Comstock shows the opposite of what is alleged, staying calm and not using excessive force.

"The claims (of) brutality I see as completely unsubstantiated," he said. "Under the circumstances, I think he handled it as best as he could."

With what Conklin called a "non-compliant" suspect, as he described Medina in this case, the police captain said it is not questionable that Comstock pulled his gun during such a struggle.

Conklin also said Comstock's finger was not on the trigger, or "indexed," the entire time, leaving a very minimal chance for the gun to accidentally discharge.

Police say Medina had put some bags of marijuana and money on the counter and was trying to get Mitchell to take the items while struggling with Comstock.

Mitchell said Medina had put his money and an iPad on the counter, and Mitchell was trying to take the items. Comstock pointed the gun at Mitchell as he attempted to collect the items.

“I just felt disrespected,” said Mitchell. “I felt sorry for Justin.”

Comstock kept his gun drawn as he phoned headquarters to get patrol units to China Xpress so that Medina and Mitchell could be taken into custody.

Mitchell was arrested for interfering with an officer, and he posted $2,500 bond.

Andrea Medina said a friend sent her the video of her son’s arrest, and she was “devastated” by what she saw.

Police said they are working on processing the complete surveillance video of the incident, and plan to release it to the media.