(San Jose Mercury-News) Exactly what happenedin the summer of 2013 when San Jose police officer Jonathan Byers confronted two young men he suspected of helping tag a freeway wall with graffiti in the middle of the night is still in dispute.
But there’s no question that the officer wound up breaking a 16-year-old suspect’s left elbow, right arm and five teeth with his night stick. It wasn’t the first time Byers has broken bones since he joined the force in about 2009. About nine months earlier, Byers kicked a suspect in the face, fracturing his nose. In another previous incident, he broke a suspect’s hand while holding him down for an involuntary blood draw. Altogether, 10 complaints alleging excessive force have been filed against Byers in the four years ending in November 2013, according to court documents.
