'Beyond traumatic,' says man who took police beating in Southern California

Warning: video contains graphic violence

A man detained by three officers with the San Bernardino Police Department, one of whom was captured on a cellphone camera striking him with a baton more than a dozen times, a tactic his attorneys call “excessive force,” is speaking out about the ordeal.  

The beating Billy Hill took unfolded on June 6 near the Kwik Stop Dairy, located at 133 East 40^th Street.  

The video, captured by a bystander, has been circulating on social media, racking up thousands of views.  

“It’s more pain than I could deal with. Beyond traumatic, traumatic for anybody,” Hill, who was wearing a foot brace due to injuries suffered during the incident, said of the experience. “I got four fractures in one leg, four fractures in this leg. I could barely walk.”  

Even though he wasn’t on the clock at the time, Hill said he was at the Kwik Stop in San Bernardino where he periodically works.  

Officers arrived there just before 11 p.m. after a 911 caller reported suspicious activity and a possibly stolen motorcycle, a call which can be heard in an SBPD Incident Debrief released by the department.  

“He was driving erratically,” the 911 caller says. “He ended up losing control and fell on the bike, and he’s trying to hide the bike because I heard him say, ‘It’s not even my bike, go hide it in the back.’” 

According to Hill, an officer approached him, but when he told the officer he worked at the Kwik Stop, he was left alone. However, he says two other officers approached him after that and the situation quickly deteriorated from there.  

In footage of the incident released by police, they say Hill matched the description given by the 911 caller, adding that he was acting erratically. Moments later, they tell him he’s being detained, and the situation escalates quickly.  

“As officers move in to detain him, they gave him multiple commands, all of which he failed to comply with,” SBPD Sgt. Chris Gray says in the Incident Debrief.  

One of the officers used a stun gun on Hill, which was not effective. He then pulled out a baton and repeatedly struck Hill on his legs.  

Attorneys for Hill say the move was an unjustified and excessive use of force.  

“It’s clear that the officer that was using the baton had lost his temper. I think that’s our assumption,” Attorney Shannon Brunner said. “The viewing of this video is disgusting. It physically makes me sick.” 

In a statement released around 9 p.m. Sunday evening, SBPD Chief Darren L. Goodman said in part: 

“I want to assure the public that we take incidents involving the use of force with the utmost seriousness. The actions depicted in the video are under thorough investigation to ensure a complete understanding of the situation.”  

As for Hill and his lawyers, they plan to file a lawsuit against the department.  

“What happened to Mr. Hill should never happen to any human being and will be the subject of a civil rights lawsuit which will be filed on behalf of our client,” Hill’s attorneys said in a press release.