Family of man who died in 2006 files lawsuit

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The family of a Grandview man who died following a police pursuit has filed a federal lawsuit against officers from Grandview, Sunnyside, Mabton and Yakima County.

The lawsuit claims that Grandview Officer Travis Shephard, and possibly Mabton Officer Anthony Russell, wrongfully caused the death of Tony Arroyo in November 2006.

Sunnyside and the county are also named in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege that representatives for those agencies destroyed dispatch tape recordings and evidence photos connected to the autopsy.

The lawsuit revolves around a police chase that began about 1:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 10, 2006. Grandview police have maintained from the beginning that Arroyo fled an attempted traffic stop at high speed, failed to negotiate a curve and slammed his car into a bridge. He then jumped in the Yakima River and disappeared, they claim.

Family members found his body submerged in the Yakima River the following morning.

An autopsy determined that Arroyo, a 23-year-old graduate of Prosser High School, drowned and had minor external injuries. He was also intoxicated by alcohol and methamphetamine, according to the autopsy.

Given the circumstances, police said, he was lucky to survive the crash. Shephard never got close to him before he jumped in the water, Grandview police said at the time.

However, Arroyo's parents, Evita Mendoza and Abraham Reyes, along with the mother of his two children, Christian Jimenez, filed a lawsuit in November in U.S. District Court in Yakima.

The plaintiffs allege that Shephard or Russell committed either murder or manslaughter. The officers are accused of using excessive force against Arroyo, then either causing or permitting him to fall into the river.

The lawsuit further alleges that other officers did not assist Arroyo when they arrived and that a dispatcher did not request search and rescue on that Friday morning. The county's volunteer search and rescue unit typically does not participate in searches involving criminal suspects because of the risk involved.

The lawsuit does not elaborate on what the plaintiffs believe happened at the scene. Seattle attorney Anthony Murawski, who is representing the Arroyo family, was not available for comment Thursday.

In response to a summons, attorneys this month began notifying the court that they would represent the defendants.

On Thursday, Grandview police referred questions to Yakima attorney Scott Beyer, whose firm is also representing Mabton.

Beyer did not a return a call, and Sunnyside's attorney also could not be reached.

Larry Peterson, a county civil attorney, said he believes the plaintiffs' claim will be shown as inaccurate in the end, including the claimed destruction of autopsy photos by sheriff's officials.

"It was a terrible mistake, but it was his mistake," Peterson said about the pursuit. "It's really disturbing that the family has this idea that he was murdered or manslaughtered. I think that's really unjustified and unfair to the police."

* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.