Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook has announced the sentencing of Luis Enrique Padilla, also known as Louis Padilla, the former Chief of Police of the Sunset Police Department. Padilla was sentenced by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to six months of home incarceration with GPS monitoring and five years of probation. This sentence follows Padilla's guilty plea in March to a charge of deprivation of rights under color of law, where he admitted to using unreasonable force against an individual, thus violating their civil rights.
Padilla had been the Chief of Police since 2016 and agreed to resign and not seek re-election as part of his plea agreement. The incident in question occurred on December 1, 2023, during an investigation into a hit-and-run case. Padilla reported to the suspect's residence but confronted a male who did not match the description and was unaware of the incident.
According to court information, upon arrival, Padilla aggressively approached and handcuffed the individual without provocation or threat. While handcuffed, Padilla poked the individual's chest and neck area, yelled at him, and threatened to demonstrate that he was "a bad man." Despite no reaction from the victim, Padilla further twisted his thumb and wrist forcefully while he remained handcuffed.
The victim was taken to the Sunset Police Department but released without charges. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorney Myers P. Namie.
