4 San Jose cops put on leave after video shows student beaten

[CreekDog]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

"Outside experts who reviewed the videotape at the request of the newspaper said they were concerned that Ho can be heard moaning and crying as he was on the ground, rather than offering substantial resistance. And experts expressed alarm that Ho appears to have been handcuffed before the final baton strike occurs."


4 San Jose cops put on leave after video shows student beaten
By Sean Webby [e-mail] Posted: 10/25/2009 04:30:31 PM PDT Updated: 10/25/2009 10:00:00 PM PDT

San Jose police officials said on Sunday that four officers who were at the scene when a student was repeatedly struck with a baton and was shocked with a Taser gun have been placed on administrative leave while the department reviews the incident captured on a grainy cell phone video.

The mayor, the police chief and a city councilman on Sunday all separately voiced concern, and vowed that a department review would be fair and complete.

Their comments follow the posting by the Mercury News on Sunday of the grainy video, which documents extensive force as Phuong Ho, 20, a San Jose State University math major from Vietnam, was taken into custody after San Jose police responded to a disturbance call.

Police reports of the Sept. 3 incident state officer Kenneth Siegel used his baton, and officer Steven Payne Jr. used his Taser gun to subdue Ho, whom the reports describe as violently kicking and refusing to comply with their orders as they attempted to place Ho in handcuffs.

But the grainy video, taken by one of Ho's roommates, documents more than 10 baton strikes as well as Taser gun usage that some experts contacted by the Mercury News described as excessive and potentially criminal.

...

Outside experts who reviewed the videotape at the request of the newspaper said they were concerned that Ho can be heard moaning and crying as he was on the ground, rather than offering substantial resistance. And experts expressed alarm that Ho appears to have been handcuffed before the final baton strike occurs.

The video shows San Jose officers' actions after they were called because of a Sept. 3 encounter between Ho and a roommate, Jeremy Suftin, that began when Suftin slopped soap on Ho's dinner steak. The two scuffled and Ho picked up a steak knife, saying that in Vietnam "I would kill you" for this.

At least some roommates laughed at the comment, as shown on a videotape reviewed by the Mercury News. But Suftin said he took it seriously, and the police were called.

Ho quickly dropped the knife and was not armed when police arrived, according to witnesses. But police reports state he ignored commands to stand in a hallway as officers entered his room to check his wallet for identification. When Ho tried to follow officer Siegel into his room, officer Payne pushed him into a wall in the hallway, forced him to the floor and attempted to handcuff him, their reports state.

It was then that another roommate captured on video the officers using repeated baton strikes and a Taser gun on Ho, who was on the floor.

...

Both the mayor and the police chief emphasized the need to respect the rights of the officers. City Councilman Sam Liccardo, who represents District 3, echoed that call while adding, "Our restraint from prejudging the situation shouldn't make Phuong Ho's cries of pain any less disturbing to our collective conscience."

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_13639917?nclick_check=1

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Think those students will be quick to call the police in the future without pausing and thinking of this? Will it cross any of your minds?

:grr:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I would certainly pause to call the police after an incident like this.

And I also wonder just what in hell those officers were thinking!

It's almost as though some sort of mob mentality takes over.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

3. You would call the police? These ARE the police!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. I was responding to the OP's sentence:

Think those students will be quick to call the police in the future without pausing and thinking of this? Will it cross any of your minds?

[bkozumplik]

6. oh so its the students fault

Right Peggy, they should be scared of the cops. We all should be. Is that your point?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. No, I would not normally be afraid of the police.

I was raised to respect them, and trust them.

But if it is found that these cops used excessive force, then I might be reluctant to call them if I lived there.

I hope this clarifies what I was saying.

[Occulus]

18. *I* was raised to respect and trust police

but Officer Friendly was found murdered at the hands of his coworkers a couple decades ago. They all were put on admin leave and later found not guilty.

[CreekDog]

13. She didn't say that

And I thought the intent was pretty clearly not saying such a thing.

[Xipe Totec]

21. You need to get a grip

You're not making many friends here.

Read carefully next time.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

2. Sam Liccardo is my rep. My wife deals with his office regularly

She is the President of our neighborhood Association.

I have had experiences with the S.J. Cops on several occasions. I have found them to have real attitude problems. I think they want to emulate the cops in L.A. You need to understand that I have grandchildren who are cops so I don't have an issue with the concept but San Jose cops are assholes.

[Ken Burch]

9. The real problem is the militarization of law enforcement

The cops don't just see people as citizens to be protected. Some of 'em see everybody as an enemy. To them, we're ALL "Charlie".

[CreekDog]

14. I'm starting to wonder if they are trained to think that

:dilemma:

[katkat]

24. Charlie

Yes, unfortunately, I think that is true. I would never call the police now unless I was in imminent fear of death. Certainly not for help with a mentally ill person, or anything like a minor dispute. Too often someone winds up dead.

[KamaAina]

30. Funny you should mention mental illness

http://cbs5.com/local/san.jose.police.2.1232200.html

Dozens of people from San Jose's Vietnamese community marched Tuesday to protest the death of a man shot by officers in May.

San Jose police shot and killed 27-year-old Daniel Pham, a mentally ill man who allegedly threatened officers with a knife. The Pham family marched on the Santa Clara District Attorney's office in hopes of finding out what exactly caused police to use deadly force on May 10th.

Hmmm... he was Vietnamese, too...

[bkozumplik]

5. Both the mayor and the police chief emphasized the need to respect the rights of the officers.

Its on tape. prejudge??? flippin' video... whats to judge?
The only only unusual part about all this is that the video tape exists and wasn't confiscated. This (cops beating people on video) happens all the time, so it must happen even more frequently than people are able to catch with video.
Screw the mayor. Screw those cops, and screw the police chief.

I hope they get sent to prison where they belong, and get cornholed every day.

[Flaneur]

28. Take a deep breath. Quit hyperventilating.

I share your disgust with apparent police brutality. I would like to see the perpetrators get justice. But I'm not going to pray that they become the victims of repeat sexual assaults.

[Ken Burch]

7. Of course the cops are all saying the kid put up resistance

Does that freaking blue line EVER break?

I'd also want to know if any of the cops were in 'Nam or had a dad who was.

[EFerrari]

12. San Jose wasn't integrated, not really, until the mid-70s, either.

And it's a slow process. Maybe my current project it warping my viewpoint, but.

[Ken Burch]

16. OK...but what I meant was, did those cops SERVE in 'Nam

or have dads who fought there? That could play a real role in the attitude some might bring to the arrest of Vietnamese immigrant.

[EFerrari]

20. The thing is, both situations are intertwined here.

The segregation AND the Nam experience.

[DeSwiss]

8. Cowardly-assed punks. n/t

[EFerrari]

11. Thanks for posting this. 'Way up in the foothills and

no local teevee.

:grr:

[Leftist Agitator]

15. Those pigs should be publically executed.

[CreekDog]

17. .

[bobburgster]

19. The names have changed, but....

not the action. Unfortunately this type of brutality is becoming more common.

[bc3000]

22. Why would someone slop soap on someone's steak dinner

That's just rude.

[katkat]

25. soap

Who knows what happened? Maybe he was walking by to do the laundry and tripped or something.

[KG]

23. another exceptional incident.

[droidamus2]

26. Ain't it amazin'

It seems like the police in this country have a real attitude problem. I understand their need to control situations but it seems their attitude is that if you don't do what they tell you 'immediately' then it is open season on you even if you are not resisting or never actually resisted but just didn't quite get their orders right. Until officers start ending up in jail for or heavily punished for their actions this will continue. As I have stated before if the 'good' cops are not involved in weeding out the 'bad' cops but instead work to cover up their transgressions then they are part of the problem and aren't really 'good' cops.

[olegramps]

27. The cops usually only associate with other cops.

This is a major problem in which it becomes an us against them mentality and they begin viewing every citizen as their potential enemy. I believe that you also have to consider just what type of person is attracted to being a cop. I agree with you that those who don't have a arrogant bully attitude can fail to correct the problem when the just look the other way because of the internal pressure that would mark them as traitors.

[newspeak]

29. I agree with one of the other posters

The police have gone military. Some even wear cammo. I think some have an "US against THEM" mentality. Even though we, taxpayers, pay their salary--there should be a citizen board in every city to view any form of police excess.

When my son was in HS and the police of our town pulled them over--my son asked the police "don't you need a search warrant"? They laughed at him and told him that this badge is all I need and then proceeded to ridicule my son's US government teacher for telling the kids about their rights. Well, I went down to the station and gave an earful to the officer and he told me that my son better watch his step. After that, every chance that officer had he'd harrass my son. I actually thought he was going to kill him and then make an excuse, like he was running away or he was fighting. This same officer beat the crap out of a hispanic young man while his wife with a newborn baby looked on. I'm telling you, that they need more stringent requirements for law officers and pay them accordingly--in every damn city.