A jury in the civil trial of a former Dunwoody Police lieutenant who was accused of assault and invasion of privacy against a former officer on May 29 awarded the plaintiffs $60,000 in compensatory damages and $120,000 in punitive damages.
After deliberating for about three hours, the jury came back with the compensatory judgment against former Police Lt. Fidel Espinoza, who resigned in disgrace in 2020 after allegations surfaced that he had sent sexually laden texts and demands for sexual favors in exchange for lucrative off-hours jobs.
The jury later returned with a judgement of $120,000 in punitive damages. Espinoza was not present for the second verdict.
The plaintiffs, Bryan and Leila Castellanos said they were pleased with the outcome of the case, but said there should be more justice meted out for Espinoza’s behavior.
“It’s a small win in the scheme of the big picture,” Bryan Castellanos said. “I am grateful for the justice that has been served. Maybe this will be an opening for others to speak up about Fidel’s actions and that of the Dunwoody Police Department.”
Several ex-officers who had testified for the plaintiffs during the two-day trial, said they were proud of the Costellanos family for speaking out against Espinoza.
“This win represents another significant milestone in the ongoing fight for transparency and accountability,” Austin Handle said. “However. this is not a final victory, but part of a larger journey. There are at least three pending EEOC complaints and another lawsuit working their way through the legal system.”
Roger Halstead, another ex-officer who testified in the case, said the ruling “sends a powerful message that harassment will not be tolerated in any shape or form and that police supervisors are not above being held accountable.”
The plaintiffs, who sued Espinoza for $500,000, had initially alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, invasion of privacy, and conduct unbecoming an officer.
However, on Tuesday evening Espinoza’s attorney Ted Meeker asked for a directed verdict that eliminated the emotional distress and conduct unbecoming an officer allegations. State Court Judge Ana Maria Martinez, after hearing arguments from both sides, dropped those charges from consideration.
All claims made by Leila Castellanos were also eliminated, leaving only Bryan’s claims of assault and invasion of privacy for the jury to consider.
In closing arguments, the plaintiff’s lawyer Ben Bengtson called for a “reckoning” for Espinoza.
“What you heard in testimony was not locker room talk or guy talk,” Bengtson told the jurors. “Nobody asks another guy for a hand job or for pictures of their genitalia. This was sexual predator talk.”
Bengtson said the evidence proved that Castellanos was a victim of “scandalous” and “outrageous” behavior and that monetary damages should be awarded to the plaintiff because of the former lieutenant’s “systematic oppression.”Â
He also commented to the jury about the wide “disparity” between Espinoza’s poised manner while on the witness stand and the man who allegedly sent countless text messages demanding sexual favors and intimate photos.
“You saw Fidel on the stand, refined and well-spoken, and the disparity you see when you consider the absolutely perverted text messages he sent day after day to his subordinates,” Bengtson told the jury. “You get to decide that we as a community will not allow this conduct.”
Meeker, in his closing statement, said the plaintiffs had not proven their case regarding the charges of assault and invasion of privacy, and that looking at the text and Facebook messenger exchanges between Castellanos and Espinoza, with the codicil that the two were friends, changes the context of the messages.
“When you realize that they were friends, which Bryan will deny, it changes the meaning of the messages,” Meeker said. “Would I talk to my friends like this? No, but when you consider all the conversations, including the ones that Bryan initiated, it’s clear that there is no liability.”
Meeker also attempted to refute Castellanos’ claims that he feared Espinoza by mentioning that the former lieutenant was invited to family functions and acted as a confidante to the couple.
“If he was so scared of Fidel, why did he allow his mother to clean Fidel’s house? Why did he invite him over to the house or ask him to attend his daughter’s concerts?” Meeker asked the jury. “It’s because they were friends.”
Espinoza, the sole defense witness in a civil trial brought by the couple, attempted to counter previous testimony from three ex-officers, who claimed he harassed them in person and through social media.
Espinoza said his encounters with two of the witnesses, Brian Bolden and Handle, were brief and non-consequential. He said he caught Bolden “with the intention” of removing donated toys from a vacant office in the Dunwoody Police headquarters, which put the transport officer in his purview.
Bolden, who attended the trial on both days, denied any such incident happened, and added that it was the first time he had heard of Espinoza’s suspicions.
Regarding Handle, Espinoza testified that the officer “was late to a lot of things,” including his official swearing-in ceremony at a Dunwoody City Council meeting. Espinoza also said that he mistakenly accused Handle of running his blue lights improperly and later apologized for the error.
Handle, who testified at Tuesday’s trial and attended the proceedings on Wednesday, said Espinoza never apologized to him in person, instead telling Handle’s supervisor to convey the message.
Espinoza is also the target of an investigation by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) for conduct unbecoming an officer and sexual harassment. Espinoza could have his certification revoked in the state of Georgia if the allegations are proven to have merit.