Lawsuit: S.F. Cops Beat Oakland Man, Threaten to Hospitalize Him if He Returns to S.F.

​San Francisco cops raided a party, bashed a bystander's face on the floor, then took him to jail and told him, "You should stay in Oakland and never come to S.F. again... Next time you come to S.F. I will put you in the hospital." That's the claim made in a lawsuit filed in Oakland federal court on Monday alleging the man's civil rights were violated.

Oakland's Orin Bentley has demanded San Francisco pay him $500,000 plus punitive and other damages for pain he suffered a year ago when cops purportedly raided a San Francisco party and did all of the above. Bentley, whose complaint does not name the officers, is represented by the firm of famed civil rights attorney John Burris, who by press time hadn't returned a call requesting comment.

A San Francisco Police spokesman said it is the department's policy not to comment on  ongoing cases.

According to the complaint, Bentley was enjoying a San Francisco party a year ago when 12 police raided the place. Bentley asked for one of the officers' badge numbers. Instead, according to the complaint:

Police "threw him to the ground, then grabbed him by the hair and repeatedly smashed his face into the floor while he was being handcuffed. Orin Bentley could hear his friends Moses and Katinka pleading for the police to stop beating him. After smashing his face several times on the floor, the officers finally stopped battering him. Orin Bentley could feel blood running from his nose, eyes and forehead.

Bentley was taken to jail, where he claims he saw cops bash another man's face into a glass wall, before he was told to get out of town and never come back. The Oakland case file shows that San Francisco has not yet formally responded to the Bentley's complaint.