{"id":79792,"date":"2025-12-03T14:14:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T14:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/79792\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T14:14:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T14:14:12","slug":"man-struck-16-times-by-california-cop-feels-vindicated-after-charges-dropped-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/79792\/","title":{"rendered":"Man struck 16 times by California cop feels vindicated after charges dropped \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost a year and a half after Billy Lee Hill absorbed 16 baton strikes<\/a> from a San Bernardino police officer, he says his shins still hurt too much for him to stand for long, and his work is limited to light duties at a friend\u2019s restaurant.<\/p>\n

But the 39-year-old Crestline resident achieved some measure of satisfaction when felony charges filed after the videotaped confrontation were dropped \u2014 and a misdemeanor charge added as part of a plea deal resulted in only a sentence of time already served after Hill pleaded guilty. The last of the charges was dismissed in late October.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a big relief, you know?\u201d Hill said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s attorney in the criminal case and a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County District Attorney\u2019s Office could not be reached for comment on the plea bargain\u2019s details.<\/p>\n

The officer who struck Hill was suspended; Police Chief Darren Goodman said his actions violated department policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor over a year, I have been painted as a criminal who tried to take an officer\u2019s weapon, but the truth is finally out,\u201d Hill said. \u201cThe dismissal of these false felony charges and the chief\u2019s admission that his officers broke policy proves what I have said from the beginning: I was the victim that day. This isn\u2019t just a win for me; it\u2019s a win for the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

On June 6, 2024, officers investigating a report of a stolen motorcycle encountered Hill in the parking lot of his workplace, the Kwik Stop Dairy at 133 E. 40th St.<\/p>\n

Police said \u2014 and Hill acknowledged \u2014 that he matched the description of a man who had crashed the motorcycle. But in a police body-worn camera video, Hill denied stealing the bike and said his bike was at home.<\/p>\n

Warning: Video contains violence, harsh language<\/p>\n

Police cameras and a bystander\u2019s video show officers then attempting to detain Hill, who repeatedly questions why. When officers do not answer, he twists his body a bit and briefly crouches, prompting attempts to handcuff him.<\/p>\n

One officer tries to disable him using a stun gun, which Hill appears to grab. Hill said in the interview that he pushed it away.<\/p>\n

One officer then pulls out his baton and repeatedly swings at Hill using a motion similar to that of a baseball batter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t trying to cause problems,\u201d Hill said in the interview. \u201cWhen they started racking me up, I\u2019m like, \u2018What the hell?\u2019 I couldn\u2019t believe he was hitting me like that. You could hear my bones break. I was pretty much in fear for my life. If he hits me in the head, I\u2019m through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA San Bernardino police officer strikes Billy Lee Hill with his baton during an arrest on June 6, 2024. The officer was suspended after the Police Department determined that he violated policy. A state agency that could have revoked his police powers declined to discipline him, Police Chief Darren Goodman said. (Photo courtesy of Dale K. Galipo)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hill said he gave up protecting himself after a few strikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like a pi\u00f1ata,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n

Goodman, without identifying him, said the officer was suspended<\/a> and returned to duty after additional training.\u00a0The officer was also referred to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training<\/a> for an investigation. POST could have revoked or suspended the officer\u2019s certification to work in California but found that his actions did not merit discipline by that agency, Goodman said.<\/p>\n

Hill has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of San Bernardino, alleging excessive force and other violations, seeking an unspecified monetary amount. The case is set for mediation on Dec. 8, said Hill\u2019s civil attorney, Dale K. Galipo.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit identifies three officers among the defendants. The lawsuit was preceded by a $5 million claim against the city, a precursor to a suit.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI am glad to see that the chief of police, in viewing this video and other related evidence, found these baton strikes to be outside of policy,\u201d Galipo said in an interview. \u201cThat will hopefully send a message to other officers in the department that this type of conduct will not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city, in a response filed with the court, denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Bernardino police officers are shown in an image taken from a bystander\u2019s recording attempting to handcuff Billy Hill on June 6, 2024. Attorneys for Hill sued the city, alleging excessive force after an officer repeatedly struck Hill with his baton. (Photo courtesy of Dale K. Galipo)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hill said he receives support from his wife of six years, but he is now afraid when he is around police.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy paranoia is like 10,000,\u201d Hill said. \u201cYou see a cop and it\u2019s like, \u2018Here we go.\u2019 Not all cops are like that, for sure. It was my first encounter with San Bernardino P.D., and it was a brutal encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost a year and a half after Billy Lee Hill absorbed 16 baton strikes from a San Bernardino…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,723,138,181,1016,1338,100,408,14661],"class_list":{"0":"post-79792","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-crime","12":"tag-crime-and-public-safety","13":"tag-latest-headlines","14":"tag-lawsuits","15":"tag-morning-wire","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-police-accountability","18":"tag-police-violence"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}