Police Officer Blinds a Mother with a JPX Device

A Riverside, CA District Attorney has announced that police officer Enoch Clark has been charged with three felony counts of assault and one felony count of use of force causing great bodily injury for a routine traffic stop that resulted in permanent damage.

“On Feb. 21, 2012, Clark was on duty, working patrol in the city of Beaumont,” the district attorney said. “During his shift, Clark was involved in a possible driving under the influence investigation. While conducting that investigation, there was an altercation between the officer and a woman he was attempting to handcuff.

“Clark then pulled out a less-than-lethal device issued by his department called a JPX device. This device uses a ‘wafer’ of gun powder to propel a stream of pepper spray . . .  at a speed of more than 400 mph.”

“The minimum distance the device is to be utilized is about five feet with the optimum distance to be used being between six and 16 feet,” according to the
district attorney. “It was determined that Clark fired the JPX at the woman’s face from a distance of about 10 inches. Both of the victim’s eyes were severely injured and it is doubtful she will see again, according to medical reports.

The victim, Monique Hernandez is 30 year old. The incident occurred on February 21, in front of her own home. She apparently disputed with Clark during a routine sobriety check when he shot her.

Hernandez told the press that her deepest regret is that she will never again be able to see her 10-year-old daughter. “My daughter currently is not staying with me right now. She’s staying with my mom, because I can’t take care of her right now. I’ll probably imagine her looking like a 10-year-old all her life – that’s the worst part,” she told reporters on Tuesday.

“The force they used was excessive,” said Hernandez’ attorney. “She had no weapons. She posed no threat. Preliminarily, investigation shows both her eyes are affected. She’s totally blind in one eye.”

Clark has plead not guilty to all four felony counts. He returns to court on May 29th.