By the Daily Post staff
Former Palo Alto police Sgt. Wayne Benitez is headed for court in the new year after he pleaded innocent to assaulting a man at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park and lying on a police report.
Benitez, 62, pleaded innocent during his Nov. 4 arraignment and is scheduled to be in Santa Clara County’s Superior Court on Jan. 20 for a preliminary hearing. Benitez was served a warrant in October after District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office charged him with misdemeanor counts of assault under the color of authority and lying on a police report for the 2018 assault of Gustavo Alvarez.
In February 2018, Benitez slammed the face of a handcuffed Alvarez against Alvarez’s car, knocking out the mobile home resident’s tooth, and mocked Alvarez for being gay. The incident was caught on Alvarez’s home surveillance camera.
So glad Palo Alto allowed him to retire with full benefits and pension at almost his old salary even though he lied about the crime he was filmed committing.