Ex-Palo Alto cop pleads guilty to 2018 assault during arrest. Colleagues called him ‘The Fuse’

A retired Palo Alto police officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to assaulting a gay man during a 2018 arrest, according to the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office.

Wayne Benitez, 66, who prosecutors say was known among his former colleagues as “The Fuse,� had slammed the 42-year-old man’s face against a car windshield and then failed to disclose his actions in his police report. As part of a plea deal, Benitez will be sentenced to 750 hours of community service and required to complete anger management and LGBTQ+ sensitivity training.

The assault occurred on Feb. 17, 2018, at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park.

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Benitez was one of several officers arresting the man, whose name was not released, on suspicion of having driven with a suspended license. Benitez slammed the man into the windshield of his own car.

“See how quickly they behave once we put our foot down?� Benitez is heard saying on body-camera video of the arrest, according to prosecutors. “And that’s what we don’t do enough of.�

After the victim complained that the assault made him bleed, Benitez said: “You’re going to be bleeding a whole lot more.�

In his report, Benitez said he only used force when pulling the man from his trailer at the mobile home park, prosecutors said. But security video from the scene captured the assault, as did the body-camera video from the arrest.

“When someone with a badge breaks the law, it cracks the confidence that people have in law enforcement,� Santa Clara County Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “That is not just unfortunate. It is unacceptable. No one is above the law.�

The man’s charges were later dismissed by the district attorney’s office. The case was investigated by the Santa Clara County district attorney’s public and law enforcement integrity team.