May 30—A jury trial began Thursday in a civil case filed against the city of Santa Fe by a man who says he was assaulted and wrongfully arrested during a confrontation between police and protesters that preceded the felling of the Plaza obelisk on Indigenous Peoples Day in 2020.

Dylan Wrobel, 30, was charged with battery upon a peace officer, resisting arrest and criminal trespass in the wake of the conflict. He later filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging he was peacefully observing the demonstration surrounding the controversial Soldiers’ Monument on Oct. 12, 2020, when he was assaulted by two officers — one of whom put him into a chokehold and slammed him to the ground and another who sprayed him in the face point blank with a chemical agent.

Wrobel’s attorney, Eric Sirotkin, told jurors in his opening statement Thursday Wrobel was calm, polite and respectful during the encounter and was only trying to reconnect with his girlfriend so they could leave the increasingly chaotic scene but instead was viciously attacked by officers who behaved as if they were in a combat scenario.

Carlos Quinones, the attorney representing the city, the Santa Fe Police Department and Officers Javier Vigil and Manuel Romero, disputed that. Evidence will show Wrobel tried to push his way past Vigil, and the officers had probable cause to arrest him, the attorney said, adding Wrobel made contact with Vigil in a rude, angry and insolent manner that justified the charge of assault on a peace officer.

Wrobel, who resolved his criminal charges through a pre-prosecution diversion proceeding with the District Attorney’s Office, is seeking an unspecified amount of actual and punitive damages in the case, including damages for pain and suffering and damage to his reputation.

“More was shattered that day than the obelisk,” Sirotkin said.

Sirotkin told jurors the Plaza was like Wrobel’s backyard as he was growing up.

Quinones described Wrobel as someone who has lived in Santa Fe “off and on” and also has lived on the East Coast over the years.

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.