Red Bank police officer charged in violent arrest, resigns from department

Candido Medina-Resendiz
Candido Medina-Resendiz
photo Candido Medina-Resendiz

TIMELINE

April 13: Candido Medina-Resendiz is arrested by Officer Mark Kaylor and others. July 7: Red Bank Judge Johnny Houston questions why the video of the arrest has not been provided. July 31: Medina-Resendiz files a complaint of excessive force with Red Bank police internal affairs. Aug. 25: The Red Bank internal affairs investigation clears Kaylor of wrongdoing. Aug. 27: Medina-Resendiz is indicted on charges of resisting arrest, simple assault and DUI by consent. Sept. 15: The district attorney's office first sees the video of Medina-Resendiz's arrest. Sept. 23: Medina-Resendiz takes his story to the media. Sept. 24: District Attorney Neal Pinkston sends Medina-Resendiz's criminal charges back to a grand jury for reconsideration, citing video as new evidence. Sept. 25: Pinkston asks TBI to investigate Kaylor. Sept. 29: Kaylor takes two weeks of vacation. Oct. 2: A second man accuses Kaylor of beating him during an arrest in August. Oct. 3: Red Bank Police find copies of the missing use of force report. Feb. 27, 2015: Pinkston reviews the TBI investigation into Kaylor and decides to take the case to a grand jury. Source: Times Free Press archives

Red Bank police officer Mark Kaylor has been charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and official misconduct for his role in the violent arrest of a Hispanic man in April 2014.

He resigned from the police department yesterday.

TBI started to investigate Kaylor in September after 24-year-old Candido Medina-Resendiz accused Kaylor of using excessive force during an arrest.

Dashcam video of the April traffic stop shows Kaylor punching Medina-Resendiz in the arm and face while other officers held him down, stun-gunned him and tried to handcuff him. The encounter left Medina-Resendiz with a swollen-shut eye, a fractured eye socket and cuts and bruises on his face.

Kaylor's defense attorney, Lee Davis, said the officer plans to fight the charges. Davis plans to ask for a jury trial to try to exonerate his client.

"Officer Kaylor has been very clear with us that he has done nothing wrong, that he followed his training and department policy and that he has cooperated with the investigation and internal affairs and they found no evidence of wrong doing," Davis said.

The Red Bank Police Department cleared Kaylor of any wrongdoing in August and commended him for his restraint that night. But District Attorney Neal Pinkston asked TBI to investigate Kaylor's actions after Pinkston's office reviewed a video of the arrest. Kaylor initially failed to provide that video to the courts, despite a subpoena.

Pinkston declined to comment on today's indictment.

Medina-Resendiz's attorneys -- Andrew Free, Kyle Mothershead and Jerry Martin -- said in a statement that they are happy to see the indictment and believe it can bring justice to their client.

"We applaud the work of District Attorney Pinkston and the investigators at the TBI in pursuing justice for Mr. Medina-Resendiz and the members of the community, especially after Chief Christol and the Red Bank Police Department commended Officer Kaylor's actions in this matter and put him back on active patrol," the statement read.

Red Bank Police Chief Tim Christol confirmed Kaylor's resignation in a release but declined to comment further.

Kaylor will turn himself in to authorities and will be issued a $10,000 bond.

He resigned from the department ahead of the indictment, Davis said, but hopes to return to the force after he fights the charges.

"We felt that with the indictment looming it would be too much of a distraction to the department and Kaylor did not want to put that kind of pressure on the other officers," Davis said. "He has now resigned and once we get this behind him he will approach Red Bank about reinstating."

Stay with the Times Free Press for updates on this developing story.

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