Two former Stockton police officers indicted on felony charges in beating of teen

2 former cops indicted in beating of Stockton teen

KTVU's Henry Lee reports.

STOCKTON, Calif. - Two former Stockton police officers were indicted on charges of assault for attacking a 17-year-old boy they rammed to a stop after a high-speed chase, authorities said Friday.

The former officers, Michael Stiles and Omar Villapudua, were each indicted on felony charges of assault by a public officer and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, said San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar.

Both were fired earlier this year for using excessive force, the department said.

"Those who violate their oath to protect and serve discredit the good work that law enforcement strives to do every day," the prosecutor said. "This indictment reminds all of us that when police use unlawful force, they undermine community trust."

The grand jury did not indict two other officers in the case, she said.

Bodycam video shows officers struggling with the 17-year-old Devin Carter at the end of a high-speed chase on Dec. 30. Police said Carter was driving up to 100 mph and refused to stop his Mercedes until officers rammed it to a stop.

"I'm not resisting!" Carter can be heard yelling on the bodycam video.

"Yeah you are!" an officer responds. "Give him your hand!"

Carter maintains that he had his hands up when officers pulled him out of the vehicle. He also said they kicked and punched him for no reason. The teen said he ended up with black eyes, back injuries, and a broken spirit.

On Friday, Carter said he had mixed emotions.

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"Four out of four should be prosecuted," he said.

Carter said he's still afraid of being pulled over in the future.

"I am in fear for my life. Say I do get pulled over by those two officers. The way I will be treated next time, if I get pulled over will there be retaliation?" he asked.

His father, George Carter said of the indictment, "It's not going to heal the wounds that Devin has suffered and the lifelong trauma that's going to come. However, it's a step in the right process."

Attorney John Burris is suing the department.

"These officers were renegades," Burris said. "There were four of them and I refer to them like a pack of wolves. All of them were like feasting on Devin, each seeking to get their own pound of flesh."