The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office has cleared a San Bernardino police officer of criminal wrongdoing after he struck a man 16 times with his baton during the videotaped arrest of a Crestline man in 2024.

Officer Javier Chavez’s “use of force was objectively reasonable and not excessive. It was therefore lawful,” said the DA’s 19-page report, which was released Tuesday, Dec. 2.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that “Reasonableness is an objective analysis and must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. It is also highly deferential to the police officer’s need to protect himself and others.”

Investigators reached their conclusion by reviewing audio and video recordings and written pol

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