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Published on 08/28/1995 All articles from this issue

Man pleads not guilty after scuffle with police

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

Hugo Hauser, a 66-year-old Mountain View resident charged with assault on a Los Altos police officer, pleaded not guilty Aug. 22 in Palo Alto Municipal Court.

On July 22 Hauser was stopped for traveling 50 mph in a 35 mph zone near the intersection of Foothill Expressway and Magdalena Avenue.

Hauser spit at the officer, opened the car door and began swinging, said Los Altos Police Capt. Jerry Little. Then the officer used pepper spray and his baton to subdue Hauser, the officer wrote in the police report.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney filed charges against Hauser of resisting arrest, assaulting a peace officer and attempting to remove a weapon (the baton) from the officer, Little said.

Hauser filed a complaint against the Los Altos Police Department Aug. 13 alleging the police officer used excessive force, said Police Chief Lucy Carlton. She ordered an internal investigation which began Aug. 15 and should take three to four weeks.

Hauser's attorney, Nicholas Rossi, said he had some questions.

"I wonder why it was necessary for the police to use so much force on an unarmed senior citizen over a traffic violation?"

Hauser was not available for comment.

Robert Curlee, a Los Altos resident, stopped July 22 after he drove past Hauser and the officer.

"I saw a police officer backing away in an unusual way which made me think something was wrong," Curlee said in an interview Aug. 23.

"I became concerned that Hugo might be injured seriously because of the way he was behaving. He was forcing the officer into a situation where the officer would have no choice but to hurt Hugo."

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Sept. 21 in Palo Alto Municipal Court.