Article: Union official: El Monte officer's kick justified

EL MONTE - An attorney representing the El Monte police officer who kicked a prone suspect in the head after a high-speed pursuit said Friday the tactic was justified under the department's use of force policy.

Television cameras captured the incident in Pico Rivera on Wednesday, sparking a sheriff's criminal investigation and an internal affairs probe that could stretch for two or three months, officials said.

"It's actually a tactic that they teach you in the police academy," said Dieter Dammier, counsel to the El Monte Police Officers' Association. "It's designed not to damage or injure people, it's to distract them. That's why you see one kick. If the officer really wanted to pummel ...

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