Livingston officer to face additional charges

Additional criminal charges were added Monday to the case against a Livingston police officer accused of handcuffing and then assaulting his wife’s ex-boyfriend in 2012.

Tyson Perry, 38, will now also face a felony charge for battery with serious bodily injury and a misdemeanor charge of battery. He has already pleaded not guilty to charges of assault by a peace officer.

Perry, who was a sergeant, is charged with assaulting Dwight Larks, according to a copy of the criminal complaint. There was no record of Perry being arrested or booked into jail in connection with the allegations.

Alison Wilkinson, Perry’s attorney, challenged the additional charges in court, saying the District Attorney’s Office has dragged its feet and should not be able to add charges.

“They had waited for quite a considerable time to even investigate the charge,” she said.

Perry has been on paid administrative leave but no longer is a sergeant. Police Chief Ruben Chavez said he did not believe the new charges would change Perry’s employment status.

Thomas Min, the Merced County deputy district attorney who is prosecuting the case, argued the new charges fall within the scope of the original charge.

Judge David Moranda ruled to allow the new charges. “The underlying conduct is the same,” he said.

Larks, a 38-year-old real estate agent, is also seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit against Perry and the city of Livingston. He is seeking compensation for his medical care, loss of wages and distress, as well as the “deprivation of civil rights,” according to the claim filed in Merced Superior Court.

According to the lawsuit, Perry was married to Larks’ onetime girlfriend.

The dispute that led to the charges happened May 21, 2012, outside Larks’ home in the 1200 block of C Street in Livingston, when Perry supervised the mother of Larks’ child during a custody exchange, according to the claim.

Larks claims there was a disagreement over when and where the parents were to exchange the child and what was required under the terms of a court order. During the confrontation, according to the claim, Perry ordered Larks to turn around several times.

The claim says Perry used his police radio to call for another officer. The claim says Larks did not put up a fight when Perry placed him in handcuffs but that he said he did not understand why he was being arrested.

According to the claim, Larks asked Perry if the arrest had anything to do with his connections to the officer’s wife. Perry gave an expletive-laced response that included the words “payback” and “karma,” according to court documents.

In the claim, Larks said he was not resisting arrest but was thrown to the ground while handcuffed. His head, shoulder and knee struck the ground. Perry then used his hand to drive Larks’ face into the ground again, according to the claim.

Larks was cited on suspicion of resisting arrest and violating a court order, according to Merced County booking records.

The civil matter is scheduled to go through a mandatory settlement conference in February, and a trial could begin in March, according to court records.

The next criminal hearing is set for 10 a.m. Jan. 15 at Merced County Superior Courthouse.

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Livingston officer to face additional charges."