City of South Lake Tahoe wins case in Federal Court

A 2011 false arrest complaint against the City of South Lake Tahoe by Patrick Solomon ended up in a jury trial in Federal Court's Eastern Division in Sacramento. On Thursday the jury came back with a decision siding with the defense, stating that there was no wrong doing on behalf of the City or the police department.

The case started when Solomon was arrested on January 21, 2011 for assaulting an El Dorado County Sheriff's Officer Deputy Brandon Pena.

Officer Pena was a County correctional officer and knew the plaintiff during his time as an inmate at the El Dorado County jail.

During the altercation between Solomon and Pena on January 21, 2011, the plaintiff claimed that the City of South Lake Tahoe and South Lake Tahoe Police Department officers acted improperly with injuries during the arrest.

The two day jury trial concluded on Thursday January 22, 2015, almost four years to the date from the original arrest.

“We are definitely delighted with the outcome and it vindicates the City’s position of cases being tried on their merits. This also clearly shows our Police Department is operating within the law and gratifying that a Federal jury recognized that,” said City Attorney Tom Watson.