In re A.R. CA4/2

BACKGROUND

On April 18, 2020, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Nguyen was

dispatched to a liquor store in a strip mall in the city of Adelanto in response to a

complaint of people loitering in the parking lot. When Nguyen, who was in uniform and

driving a marked patrol vehicle, pulled into the parking lot, he was flagged down by a

woman who pointed at A.R., who was standing six to eight feet away, and said he had

assaulted her son. A.R. turned and began walking away, and Nguyen followed in his

vehicle and called out to A.R. through the open car window to stop and come talk to him.

A.R. turned to look at Nguyen and then continued walking away, tossing an unknown

object into a trash can. Nguyen told A.R. to stop and place his hands on the hood of the

patrol car. A.R. responded, “‘For what?’” He told Nguyen he had done nothing wrong

and continued walking away. Nguyen exited his vehicle, grabbed A.R. by the wrist, and

told him to place his hands behind his back. A.R. did not comply, pulled away from

Nguyen, and attempted to flee toward the front of the vehicle. Nguyen attempted to use

2 his body weight to push A.R. against the vehicle to get control of his…