The Reckoning: How a violent arrest forced out two veteran Palo Alto cop
PART 1: THE DECISION
On Sept. 1, 2021, former Palo Alto Police Agent Thomas DeStefano received a letter from then-Police Chief Robert Jonsen informing him that he was being fired.
The action came more than two years after department began its probe into the conduct of DeStefano and other officers who were involved in the infamous Feb. 17, 2018, arrest of Gustavo Alvarez at the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, a low-income neighborhood along El Camino Real tucked back behind a strip mall.
That arrest ultimately triggered an internal-affairs investigation, a civil lawsuit against the city and a criminal conviction of a police supervisor.
DeStefano was the second officer to arrive at Buena Vista that evening, after Officer Christopher Conde had followed Alvarez home. Once Alvarez got inside, he refused to come out when ordered to do so by Conde and other officers. A surveillance video that Alvarez’ attorney released about a year after the incident showed DeStefano pointing his gun down while the supervising officer, Sgt. Wayne Benitez, kicked down the door of Alvarez’ home.
Seconds later, after Alvarez was pulled out of the home and handcuffed, DeStefano stood by while Benitez slammed Alvarez on the hood of Alvarez’ car.
Palo Alto resident Gustavo Alvarez was illegally detained and assaulted by police on Feb. 17, 2018 near his dwelling at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. Video footage from Gustavo Alvarez’s home surveillance system.
Jonsen wrote in his September 2021 letter to DeStefano that the officers’ actions justified the penalty of termination. He cited five department policies that DeStefano had violated during the arrest: duty to intercede, reporting the use of force, report corrections, non-criminal activity (which relates to a failure to document the pointed gun), and conduct unbecoming a member of the department.
Jonsen, who is now Santa Clara County sheriff, noted in the termination letter that DeStefano was laughing at the scene of the arrest. And later, DeStefano recounted what happened to Alvarez in a message to another officer, telling him that he “missed out” because “the Fuse was lit,” a reference to Benitez’ nickname. For emphasis, DeStefano reportedly reenacted Benitez’ use of force after the fact by slamming his hand on the hood of the car, Jonsen wrote.
“You failed to document your own use of force, failed to notify a supervisor of excessive force that you witnessed, and then approved reports you knew to be false,” Jonsen wrote. “Your conduct was unprofessional and has had an extremely negative impact on the public’s trust in the Department. You covered up an unjustified use of force that eventually came to light only because of Mr. Alvarez’s home surveillance system and his pursuit of legal claims against the City. For these reasons, termination is the appropriate penalty.”
While Palo Alto Online was the first to report in September 2021 that DeStefano is no longer with the Palo Alto Police Department, the city declined to say at that time whether his departure was voluntary. DeStefano himself did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
This is the first story in a three-part series. Read the full story here.