War of Words Escalates over S.B. Cop

DUI attorney Daryl Genis submitted an official complaint on behalf an unnamed woman, contending that Santa Barbara Police Officer Aaron Tudor “slammed” his client against the hood of a police car when arresting her last month for driving under the influence and broke her right arm while pulling it forcibly behind her and yanking it up. Genis also charged Tudor with “stalking” another woman after he contacted her a couple times via Facebook after having arrested her for DUI as well.

Genis brought these allegations to light last week to buttress his claims of excessive force against Tudor, who’d arrested another of his clients, Tony Denunzio, after tasering him 13 times for resisting arrest in the Gelson’s parking lot. While the District Attorney’s Office has filed DUI charges against Denunzio, it declined to file for resisting arrest, much to the chagrin of Santa Barbara police brass. Assistant chief Frank Mannix acknowledged Genis’s client had her arm broken and that Tudor was one of two officers involved. But, he stressed, the woman was resisting arrest and had to be restrained. “We reviewed the use of force, and we found nothing irregular,” Mannix said. “The mere fact that someone was injured while resisting arrest is not uncommon.” Mannix said multiple witnesses — including the woman’s boyfriend — witnessed the event and confirmed that she’d resisted.

Mannix also acknowledged that Tudor had contacted the second woman — unnamed by Genis — via Facebook and confirmed it constituted a violation of department protocol for an officer to initiate social contact with an arrestee. But in the same breath, Mannix accused Genis of violating his professional code of ethics by describing Tudor as a “sexual predator” and equating Tudor’s Facebook activity with “stalking.” Mannix noted that Tudor and the woman attended the same church and that Tudor contacted her to discuss church services. “[Genis’s] comments are so maliciously distorted that no responsible attorney would recognize them as truthful or ethical,” Mannix stated. He also accused Genis of acting improperly by divulging details about someone who was not his client. The Police Officers Association, the union representing sworn officers, blasted Genis on the same grounds.