Tourist Wins $200K After Translation Goes Full Fart Police

“Pedo policía pedo la madera” was apparently meant to warn residents that police and a dog were outside. According to a translator’s report, however, the officers were repeatedly announcing: “Fart police, fart the wood.” The mistranslation has now helped turn a Colorado police raid into a $200,000 civil verdict.

Salvador Alonso Guerrero-Salmeron, a Mexican professional musician who does not speak English, was staying at a home in Aurora in March 2023. He was renting a room while promoting his band and performing shows when a SWAT team arrived early in the morning to arrest a tenant staying in another room.

Guerrero-Salmeron had no connection to the suspect. During the raid, he texted the building’s landlord because he believed intruders were breaking in and attacking somebody downstairs. He did not realise the shouting was coming from police officers, which is perhaps understandable when the loudspeaker appeared to be issuing instructions on behalf of a flatulent constabulary.

It remains unclear exactly what officers were trying to say. They repeatedly gave commands in English and poorly pronounced Spanish, apparently intending to warn residents that a police dog was at the scene. As the Spanish commands were delivered, one officer observed: “You just ordered the taco plate.”

Police body-camera images show officers waking Guerrero-Salmeron, pointing guns at him and speaking Spanish. He held up his identification and visa. While he held a document in one hand, the police dog bit his elbow and remained latched on to his arm for around 15 seconds.

Guerrero-Salmeron said he neither heard nor understood the commands. Police nevertheless arrested him and charged him with failing to obey a police order, a municipal offence that prosecutors later dropped.

He subsequently brought a civil lawsuit against Aurora Police Department officers, accusing them of excessive force and malicious prosecution. He argued that the dog bite was unnecessary because he posed no threat and was attempting to identify himself.

Lawyers for the officers defended their actions, saying the use of the dog was reasonable in the circumstances. They argued Guerrero-Salmeron had failed to follow commands for more than an hour and that officers had reason to believe he might be armed or preparing to attack them.

On Tuesday, the jury found police dog handler Officer Robert Wong liable for excessive force and Officer Grant Peet liable for malicious prosecution. Two other officers named in the lawsuit, Oscar Pena and Jeremiah Miles, were cleared.

The jury awarded Guerrero-Salmeron $200,000 in damages. His attorneys, Joshua Landy and Luke McConnell, said the verdict “sets the record straight.”

“What makes this verdict particularly significant is that the jury didn't stop at finding excessive force,” they said. “The jury also found that an officer maliciously prosecuted an innocent man and imposed punitive damages for that conduct.”

The Aurora Police Department declined to comment. Guerrero-Salmeron leaves the case vindicated; the phrase “fart police” leaves it considerably more expensive than most language lessons.