Man claims Dallas County jailer used excessive force during arrest

A North Texas man with a history of run-ins with the law claims he was assaulted while being arrested in July and says he has the video to prove it.

Video evidence has become the gold standard for excessive force allegations. But as the video shows, what is seen at first may not be the total story.

Dallas County Jail intake video shows Jesse Soria being booked for criminal trespass on the July 3. There's no audio on the recording, but Soria says he and the jailer had a heated exchange before being put on the ground for a body search. It is during the search while Soria is handcuffed that the jailer punches him once in the head and slams his face against the floor.

“I seen the lights and it started throbbing,” Sorai said.

The video supports that part of Soria's story.   

"My right forehead left me a big knot. and the force of it blacked my right eye,” he said.

Soria’s mugshot from that day appears to show a knot of the right side of his forehead but no black eye. He filed a grievance with the sheriff's department the next day and obtained a copy of the video nearly three months later.

"The officer to be prosecuted in federal court for violating my civil rights,” Soria said.

But the department says it reviewed the jailer's statement of what happened, along with the video, and found no evidence of excessive force. The department says while Soria was on the ground, he kicked the jailer near the groin with his left foot, knocking him off balance, and also tried to spit on him.

The jailer's account came out after Soria filed his complaint. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office says the employee was reprimanded for not initially reporting what happened.

The department says Soria's grievance was thoroughly investigated by three different divisions of the sheriff's office and determined the detention officer acted accordingly and did not violate any policy.