Tony Denunzio, who witnesses say was brutally struck and tasered by Santa Barbara Police Officer Aaron Tudor during a DUI stop last October, filed a governmental claim for damages with the City of Santa Barbara, the first step toward filing a lawsuit against the city. In the claim, which alleges damages in excess of $10,000, Denunzio, who other witnesses say was resisting arrest (the District Attorney didn’t file resisting charges against him), says he suffered “massive physical and mental injuries” from assault, battery, slander, and libel. Denunzio’s DUI case was moved to North County because of media publicity in town.
