We return to the story of Danny Cantu, the middle-aged diesel mechanic who was preparing a sandwich in his South Dallas kitchen in 2010 when a flash-bang grenade punched through the backdoor. Dallas Police streamed into his home and, depending on whose account you buy, Cantu's face somehow got pulverized. Either the cops beat the holy hell out of him as he surrendered obligingly during the execution of a narcotics search warrant, or he scrambled through the house and an officer "fell" on top of him.
In both scenarios, police did not confiscate the kilos of blow they were expecting. They did, however, find 0.1 grams of cocaine, nunchaku and a sawed-off shotgun.
There hadn't been much movement in the civil case Cantu has filed against the city for some time, leading me to believe that perhaps settlement talks were under way. I reached out to Cantu's attorney, Craig Zips, but haven't heard back. And I can't find a working number for Cantu himself. But if court filings are any indication, the parties are preparing for a trial.
Cantu has filed an extensive list of potential witnesses, mostly Parkland Hospital physicians who treated him. The list further reveals the extent of his injuries, which sound quite horrifying.
An opthalmologist will talk about the swollen optic nerve that resulted from the broken orbital bone. Apparently it continues to blur vision in his left eye. Surgeons will discuss the "septorhinoplasty" they performed to repair the "bi-lateral nasal fracture" and "fractured septal deviation," which sounds basically like a nose broken all to pieces. Physicians will explain the results of Cantu's CT scans and his worsening headaches. His hearing loss will be testified to by an audiologist.
In all, Cantu's attorneys have identified some 20 doctors who in some way participated in putting him back together again.
City attorneys filed a list of potential witnesses, including a forensic pathologist who will testify "as to mechanism of injury and the causation for the injuries Plaintiff Danny Cantu sustained during the execution of the search warrant on January 22, 2010."
Put simply, she'll explain how a guy can fall and break his face. If it gets to trial, this should be interesting.
