$500,000 Settlement for Teen Punched by Fresno Officer After Bodycam Footage Showed Unreasonable Force

In January 2019, Fresno police conducted a probation sweep at an apartment complex. Officer Christopher Martinez entered a unit and encountered London Wallace, then 17 years old, who was not a target of the sweep and had no gang affiliations or prior criminal history. Body camera footage captured what followed: Martinez punched Wallace repeatedly in the head and face, tackled him to the ground, and continued striking him while Wallace was bent over shielding his head. Wallace suffered a broken nose and bleeding. Obstruction charges filed against Wallace were later dropped by prosecutors.

Warren Paboojian and Nolan Kane of Paboojian and Bell filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Wallace's behalf, naming Martinez and two other officers as defendants. U.S. District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii ruled the claims viable, allowing the case to proceed toward trial on causes of action including excessive force, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

An independent review reinforced the plaintiff's core theory. The City of Fresno's Office of Independent Review found that four of Martinez's seven punches fell outside department policy, concluding they 'could have been avoided' given Wallace's posture at the time. An internal affairs investigation separately found that Martinez violated procedure by failing to activate his body camera before the encounter, though the then-chief overruled certain policy-violation findings on appeal.

With federal trial scheduled for August 2022, the city agreed to a $500,000 settlement. The Fresno City Council approved the payout in late July 2022. Warren Paboojian noted the settlement addressed the city's use of 'unnecessary excessive force.' The four officers involved in the sweep, including Martinez, remained employed by the department at the time of the settlement.