By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A man at the center of what police called mayhem outside a downtown Centralia establishment ended up hospitalized after an officer hit him in the head with a flashlight just before closing time on Sunday morning.
Rafael M. Pantoja, 45, Chehalis, was arrested for resisting and obstructing but the Centralia Police Department is canceling those charges and requesting Pantoja be charged with attempting to disarm an officer, police Sgt. Carl Buster said yesterday.
Police answered a call just after 2 a.m. that said 20 people were fighting outside at the 300 block of North Tower Avenue, according to Buster.
What they found when they arrived was a drunk patron who wanted to fight with security at El Amigos because they wouldn’t let him stay, Buster said.
El Amigos is a restaurant that is closed to minors sometimes on weekend nights, according to police.
“He’s not listening, his own people are holding him back, our officer holds a baton in front of the guy and the guy grabs the stick, almost gets it from the officer,” Buster said yesterday.
“They’re all drunk,” he said.
Centralia officers ended up hitting the guy with a stick a couple of times, and deploying a Taser which had no effect, according to Buster.
“It’s just brute force to get him into cuffs,” he said.
By the time it was over, a 29-year-old Rochester woman who allegedly shoved an officer in the chest was on the ground handcuffed. Pantoja was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a cut on his head, according to Buster.
After hours of waiting for Pantoja to be treated and discharged so they could book him, the doctors said they wanted to transfer the patient to an Olympia Hospital, so officers wrote him a citation and released him.
Buster wasn’t there, but as sergeant reviewed the reports on the incident.
He said some in the crowd were angry at police, and threatening to post video of the fight online.
Buster defended the flashlight to the head, saying the officer decided to end it, and wanted to stun the subject.
“Sometimes we have to use force, sometimes force doesn’t look good, it’s violent,” Buster said. Had the subject gotten the police baton, they could have been forced to shoot him to keep him from injuring others, Buster said.
No other injuries were reported.
Once in the patrol car, Pantoja began apologizing to police, Buster said. His current medical condition wasn’t readily available.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Good thing i dont live there or i would be falsely arrested or get my ASS KICKED! im living in anothere state however whewww! Lol! Or, i might die!!!
Risk management??? Hilarious! What is that a euphemism for?… An internal dept that protects lewis county agencies from being sued? Like, we will investigate and find them not liable, because we are part of them therefore we are going to make sure we dont get sued, regardless of whether there is corruption and misconduct. We will keep our dirty little secrets hidden and our investigation will clear all of our lewis county agencies of wrongdping in case the feds come in and investigate, which they will do. Too many complaints to keep hiding corruption.
Good for you and your dad Brian Stoner. Maybe your father was a good cop, but I see a lot of complaints here about over zealous Centralia officers. They would rather beat people up then use a tazer, which would be much less lethal in my mind. What the officers do is work in teams so they can make sure their stories match. All I know is the police in Centralia are antagonistic, beat people up over misdemeanors, and half the time don’t have probable cause, and then they all write their reports together. And, might I add, they don’t even know how to write a good and convincing incident report! It’s full of missing information, has discrepancies all over it, and lacks the evidence to indicate they had probable cause to arrest or detain, let alone use excessive force! They are not peace officers and they are not the community’s protectors. They have grandma and grandpa buffaloed into thinking they are keeping them safe– when what they are really doing is giving Centralia a bad name. It’s going to all catch up with them sooner or later. It’s only a matter of time.
I am trying to find witnesses that have been victims of centralia police misconduct and excessive force and assault. I have an attorney and agencies that are helping me with my son’s case. If we fight collectively, we can make Centralia PD accountable and maybe get compensation if you deserve it. Please call me at 239-777-2260 ASAP! I can help you! We can stop this corruption together. I know our rights!!
Let me be clear, there are good cops. Please let me know who they are in Centralia Police Dept. My 24 year old son has been harrassed by them for years, because he acts odd and dresses oddly. Recently 2 police officers accused him of car prowl with no just cause and then took him to the ground, practically broke his arm, and kneed him in the head several times!! He ended up in the hospital! He had no weapons, no tools to indicate breaking into cars, and the officers admitted to excessive force!! I’m sorry you idealistic people in your comments above, but no one has the right to use violence against someone unless THEIR LIFE IS IN DANGER!! Centralia Police investigate themselves and have assigned an officer who promotes excessive force even when it’s not warranted. Names will come later!!!
When it come to the centralia police department they need to fire all of them!! get people that will to there job the right way. The police officers are a joke. The Citizen’s of Centralia have no rights. When it come to the police officers. something need to get done about it!!! When are the CITIZEN OF CENTRALIA going to have rights?? POLICE OFFICERS ARE LIERS!! THEY ABUSE THERE RIGHTS TO WEAR A BADGE!!!
The Facts are, Clear Gary Byrnes is heard on Video stating I am under arrest . If you cannot record traffic stops and protect your rights, then America is Dead. http://reason.com/blog/2012/01/30/federal-jury-says-cops-cant-arrest-peopl The Fact is the Centralia Police are a Bunch od Criminals and the community knows it.
“Ever think that maybe you had the taser pointed at you because you weren’t obeying the commands of the cop who pulled you over?”
You pigs will pull a piece of a bicyclist.
So, “Dirty Cop Enforcer”, how much of the taxpayer dollars are you going after in your massive lawsuits against all of these cops for so grossly and egregiously infringing on your right to video and tape-record them for arresting you for breaking the laws that are originally getting you stopped?
Or have you just not taken your medication lately? You might want to up the dosage.
And before you go around calling a REAL patriot a “troll”, try spending a few years in his or her shoes. Just because you go around causing confrontations with cops so you can record them does not make you a “patriot”, it makes you a joke.
Opps maybe I’m wrong Mike Lowery. it Looks Like it’s a D Lowey. This must be a family member. The facts are still Clear a Lowery of The Centralia Police Department assaulted me and Choked me On march 3rd 2011 Maybe If your police department would Investigate my claims, all of this matter could be resolved. It’s nearly Impossible to tell who’s who during an assault when several armed thugs are involved. Like I said I am going to keep informing the community that the Centralia Police did infact assault me on arch 3rd 2011. Sorry Mike Lowery I apologize. I don’t have any beef with you. I just want the officers involved held accountable
Really Mike Lowery then why is your name on the Police report. It says you placed your hand on my chest. I will hold a public meeting to show the community the police reports. So if you were not working then why is your name on page 5 of the March 3rd 2011 traffic stop. Gary Byrnes is also heard on tape that I am inder arrest. And to you George I was leaving the Business establishment I was operating, the Police mistook me for a drunk. I was accused of leaving my head lights off. The tape proves I asked for a Breath test, but was never given one. Officer Byrnes is heard on tape stating he was investigating me for DUI. Where’s the Results of the test. Ofc Finch claims I failed. Mike Lowery you claim to have put your hand on my chest and now you say you were never there. So the police reports I have are fake?. Come On admit to it. The Police Department messed with the wrong guy this time. Your department had been watching me for months. Oh lets not forget about the time I was doing community service for over 2 weeks in Centralia. I had been picking up garbage along Tower Avenue. And I was rewarded by having a Gun Pointed at Me. by Centralia Police Officers. And lets not forget about that Comment you made to me Mike Lowery at the Lewis County Court House. When you said where is the FBI. Opps did I record that comment also? Yes the Camera is always running and the Centralia Police Have been caught in a Lie. The recordings and the police reports I have tell a very Different Story. To say you were never working Mike Lowery is a Lie I have the Documents to prove you claim you placed your hands on my chest. Let Me Guess the Centralia PD made some new police reports. Hey lets not forget that the Police Department also Intercepted my Mail from the Power Company. I have your Pitney Bows # on my Electric Bill that proves it came from the Police Station. I’m going to keep posting the Truth until your Police Department is held acccountable. I am doing a service to the community, I’m taking out the Trash… Police Brutality is all over the internet, what Centralia Police are the Exception, Not. I still stand by my Comment that in this situation the police did the right thing, It’s good that the Centralia Police were recorded this time also. I have made them more aware of Video recording equipment and citizens rights. Look I’m sorry that your officers were caught violating my rights. But as someone that enforces the Constitution you should be thankful that I tried to exercise my rights and I’m trying to bring corrupt and mistrained Law Enforcement Officers to justice for being untruthful. After all I’m doing the Community a big favor by policing the police. Finaly a Little guy stood up to the Armed Gang and caught some of your actions on recording. Oh yeah George The SD card was broken in half and was recoverd, I suggest you get the police report and listen to the recordings before you Troll against real Patriots.
I noticed that too/
“…my cameras SD card was broken…” Really? If it was broken, then how did you get the video to post?
“…and my tape recorder was shut off.” Which means there would be nothing there.
Again, I will say it. Recording the cops in action is NOT a crime. But when you are NOT obeying their commands, then you open yourself to all sorts of things to happen. And then there is the whole reason why they pulled you over in the first place… or are you not going to tell us what you did to get pulled over?
Don’t believe everything that you read. Dirty cop enforcer loves to throw my name around all the time as the one who did this or that but if he would take time to double check things he would see that the night he was “assaulted” I was not even working. Not to mention if your SD card was broken how did you post the video of the stop? Again don’t believe everything that you read.
Geez George the 911 call center called me back and had to let me know the police still had my Liscense. So what are you saying? I gave up my liscense and insurance information from the begining of the stop. You know nothing. all of the information is avaliable for public disclosure. Officer Byrnes is heard on video telling me I am under arrest for recording him. These are the facts and this is a crime.
Really George. I did give the police my liscense and all Information, Gary Byrnes came back to my car and asked If I was recording. I said yes and that’s when he pointed his taser at me. The Video is very clear to what happened. Now the Centralia Police made their bed and they have to Lie in it. Maybe you should watch the video before you make an uneducated opinion in the matter. I have a right to record my very own police stop. The video is clear I had a taser pointed at my face for recording the traffic stop. Like Byrnes say’s I am under arrest for recording him. When is recording the police illegal? Oh and The tampered with police reports I’m sure you examied them also. I will keep spreading the message until the issue is resolved.
Ever think that maybe you had the taser pointed at you because you weren’t obeying the commands of the cop who pulled you over? Ever think that maybe they were using the methods they did because you were being uncooperative? Recording the interaction you had with the cops might be legal, but if you’re sitting there going “I’m not getting out of my car, putting down my camera, or giving you my license because I’m recording you”, well, you made your own bed… now you have to sleep in it.
From what I know of Carl Buster he is an Ok guy. Each time I have dealt with him he has treated me with respect. The community has alot to say about our police and the usual names always come up. A few bad apples always ruin the local cop shop. I have better things to do than discredit our local police force, but like I said until they are held accountable for violating my rights I choose to keep spreading the word until I get an apology and they admit to their wrong doings. Some people think I’m crazy, but crazy is allowing police brutality to go unchecked.
Not all cops are bad, I’m not saying that at all. But when they do get caught on Video and write bogus Police reports something has to be done. Is this situation it sounds like a drunk man did get out of control. In my situation I was pulled over during a traffic stop and had a Taser pointed at my face for recording the traffic stop. I called 911 and asked the dispatcher 11 times to send a State Patrol Officer. The Lewis County 911 call center participated in the crime with the Centralia PD. The call center has one duty and that is to transfer me to the State Patrol. I ended up getting out of the car and was placed in Handcuffs, choked and had my head slammed against the wall. In the process my car was illegaly searched, my cameras SD card was broken and my tape recorder was shut off. The Officer that assaulted me was Mike Lowey. He waited 30 days before he filled out his police report. I have the original copy and the newly tampered with police documents that clearly shows the report was written 30 days after the incident. Yes the Police are needed, but when then get caught committing crimes they need to be held accountable. If the Centralia Police are deemed to be Liars then what good is their word in Court? Like I said we need Police Officers and this time they did the right thing. But my situation is very different I can prove they tampered with documents and violated my rights and tried to cover it up. I will not stop until the officers involved are brought to Justice. Fair is Fair, If I can be held accountable for my actions then the officers involved violating my rights while on duty must also be held accountable. We need good police officers in Centralia, But we dont need armed thugs that violate the publics trust. My web site has a link and the incident report is public record. The Recordings and the reports don’t match up. So the comunity can think what ever they would like, I’m just standing up for myself. One day your family memeber could be beaten by a police officer and a Video Camera could mean Locked up forever or keeping irty Cops in line. You be the judge police brutality is all over the news in our modern society. A SMFL I’m not a bad ass I’m just a Patriot that is tired of Government Corruption. You would be too if you were stalked by police officers. D. Low
Good thing the stupid cops don’t try to choke me to cause ill beat there asses again and get on dirty cops .com with my homey David low cause he’s bad AZZ and is suing the dum pigz anyway! Buster ain’t rite about nothin cause he’s a joke and sells weed to kids!
The police did the right thing it sounds like, but I’m sure the video will surface. The Centralia Police have attacked people in the past for recording them. There’s that incident on Dirty Cops Must Register .com where a Centralia Police officer told a man he was under arrestt for recording him. I think it was Gary Byrnes. the man claims he was choked in handcuffs and his camera card broken.
I for one am suprised anyone would even want to be in law enforcement today. We all call them when we are in trouble and expect them to take a bullet for us , but we expect them to do that with what ? Magic Fairy dust ? Buster is right sometimes force is violent and violence in real life is ugly as hell . Also dealing with a bunch of drunks is impossible . What are they to do when a stun gun is ineffective? We are harder on our law enforcement officers then we are in just about any service profession . From my point of view the money ain’t that good folks. They need to be monitored for sure as we all do in service jobs but they need to be able to do the job safely for all themselves included.
shoulda shot him
As the son of a retired Centralia Police officer, I applaud the the police department on their careful and patient handling of this incident. My father was faced with many of the same incidents as a young beat officer, and I think he would have handled the situation the same. God Bless our police officers…