During a traffic stop, an Albuquerque police officer kneed a 24-year-old man in the groin with enough force to shatter his testicle, necessitating emergency surgery, the man’s complaint alleges.
Jeremy Martin, a law student at the University of New Mexico, lost a testicle as a result of that encounter.
Martin was driving through the UNM campus with a car full of friends when he drove through a stop sign, according to police. He was pulled over and given a field sobriety test after admitting that he had been drinking, according to KOB 4.
APD Officer Padilla instructed Martin to sit on the curb. He claimed that Martin resisted, however. (RELATED: Horror: Why Did This Cop Fire 4 Shots At A Teen Girl, Killing Her?)
But Martin’s lawyer, Sam Bregman, said that all Martin did was take a step toward the officer — at which point Padilla kneed him in the groin with unbelievable force.
“This officer felt the necessity to knee him so directly and with so much blunt force that it shattered his testicle,” he said in a statement.
Martin was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of marijuana.
He was also taken to the hospital for emergency surgery, and lost a testicle.
In his mugshot, Martin has cuts all over his face. The police report mentions the cuts, but does not explain how he received them. The report makes no mention of the groin injury.
There are other inaccuracies in the report, which claims that Martin ran a stop sign while driving north on Wellseley Place. The stop sign is only for southbound traffic, however.
Martin is filing a lawsuit, according to Bregman.