SJSU student in videotaped beating case files suit against cops

[alp227]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

A San Jose State student has filed a federal lawsuit alleging San Jose police officers, whose violent and secretly videotaped arrest earlier this year sparked community outrage, violated his civil rights by using excessive force.

Phuong Ho, who is here from Vietnam studying to be an actuary, contends police had no reason to strike him with a metal baton more than a dozen times and use a Taser against him when they came to question him about an alleged threat.

"The police used unreasonable force on our client and violated his constitutional rights,'' said Duyen Hoang Nguyen, Ho's attorney. "The officers attacked him without cause.''

Ho's lawyers are asking the city and police department, who they say did nothing to curb an environment of officers filing false charges to cover up acts of excessive force, for $6 million in damages.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14994193

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Video of the incident: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid31377651001?bctid=51199073001

Other reports about SJPD brutality controversies: http://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-police-under-fire

Good to see him holding the police accountable for using excessive force as has been done way too many times way too often towards people of color. Some more great news following the recent conviction of former NYPD officer Patrick Pogan for falsifying a police report about being assaulted (when Pogan was caught on video knocking over a bicyclist).

[Iowa]

1. I hope he wins big...

I like this line: "Ho's lawyers are asking the city and police department, who they say did nothing to curb an environment of officers filing false charges to cover up acts of excessive force, for $6 million in damages." That really says it all, and it is going on all over the country every day. Excessive force, false charges, and cops getting off scot-free.

Police in this country are out of control and need to be reigned in. Whatever it takes... the country is fed up with them. A day never goes by without some outrage committed by cops.

[midnight]

2. Thank god the video confirmed that the cyclist was knocked on the ground,

and not the officer.

"During Mr. Pogan’s testimony, he acknowledged that he told both his sergeant and an assistant district attorney that Mr. Long knocked him down with his bicycle, but characterized that as an honest mistake. He said he had confused the initial collision with two later instances in which he went to the ground while trying to handcuff Mr. Long."

It is this quality or lack of quality facts that cause many mistakes in our judicial system....

[safeinOhio]

3. I support the Seventh Amendment

to the Constitution and taking away all of the Courts activism in watering down the rights it gives us.