Occupy Oakland: footage shows police beating 'peaceful' Iraq war veteran

[EFerrari]

Oakland police investigating after ex-marine Kayvan Sabehgi suffered a ruptured spleen in apparently unprovoked incident

Video footage has emerged of a police officer beating an Iraq war veteran so hard that he suffered a ruptured spleen in an apparently unprovoked incident at a recent Occupy protest in California.

The footage, which has been shared with the Guardian, shows Kayvan Sabehgi standing in front of a police line on the night of Occupy Oakland's general strike on 2 November, when he is set upon by an officer.

He does not appear to be posing any threat, nor does he attempt to resist, yet he is hit numerous times by an officer clad in riot gear who appears determined to beat him to the ground.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/18/occupy-oakland-police-beating-veteran?CMP=twt_gu

[zazen]

1. please tell me this is reported here and not just UK

[EFerrari]

3. It was reported but I think this is new video. nt

[mailman82]

2. The Oakland Police

Are nothing more than Terrorists. Dressed in black faces covered. There is no reason to beat this man, other than, he was unarmed and presented no threat. This cop probably treats his family the same way!

[Aerows]

4. It looks like he was beaten for the great crime

Of not being sufficiently intimidated by a police officer. I guess in order to be allowed to walk the street you have to cower before authority, or you get the hell beaten out of you.

[malaise]

16. All they have is the establishment hope of fear n/t

[Spazito]

5. Wow! Police brutality in stark terms...

Citizen journalists are showing reality while the MSM faux journalists fluff it up with disgusting terms like "made contact with".

Thanks for posting this.

Recommended.

[nc4bo]

6. They are doing a fine job. M$M is obsolete, they know it

and are guilty of depending on the same videos the rest of us have already seen countless times and almost always late. They can no longer squash, silence or manipulate the real news only play "catch-up" or play to those who still choose to be sheep.

Citizen journalists and their documentation of brutality become available within days, if not minutes, after it occurs not only to Americans, but on a global scale and it goes viral just as quickly. True :patriots: just like the protesters of OWS.

The world watches and loses more and more credibility and respect for our government with each and every incident.

[Spazito]

7. I wholeheartedly agree! n/t

[mod mom]

8. Shameful! Our state department has no right criticizing other governments on human

rights violations until this is fully addressed and this perpetrator of violence (who ever the cops are) face criminal charges.

[JoeyT]

9. The cop needs to be charged with attempted murder.

Of course I'm sure someone will be along shortly to inform us that we shouldn't judge this situation because we only know one side of the story and the officer is a brave upstanding policeman with a dangerous job, and we couldn't possibly know what it's like. A picture of a cop saving a puppy may be posted.

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. The ACLU and another legal agency are suing Oakland over all of the brutality.

[EFerrari]

14. The National Lawyers' Guild, iirc.

I feel relieved that they didn't kill this young man.

[Uncle Joe]

11. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, EFerrari.

[Fire Walk With Me]

12. Looks like a fucking war zone. Feels like a war zone. Goodbye, Constitution...

[sabrina 1]

13. I was hoping someone got video of that and it proves what he

said. That is one scary sight, civilian police 'chanting' as they advance on a single citizen who had every right to be where he was.

That is a very sick cop. I wonder if they hire specific personality types to do this dirty work for the 1%?

Sabehgi, 32, an Oakland resident and former marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has since undergone surgery on his spleen. He says it took hours for him to be taken to hospital, despite complaining of severe pain. Police have told the Guardian they are investigating the incident.

The footage was recorded by artist and photographer Neil Rivas, who said Sabehgi was "completely peaceful" before he was beaten. "It was uncalled for," said Rivas. "There were no curse words. He was telling them he was a war vet, a resident of Oakland, a business owner."

Sabehgi has previously said he was talking to officers in a non-violent manner prior to his arrest, which the footage appears to confirm.

The 32-year-old can be seen standing in front of a line of police officers, all of whom are in riot gear. The officers walk forward, chanting and thrusting their batons, and Sabehgi starts to walk backwards.

And he told them he was a businessman, which he is, and a veteran. Nothing stops them, women, the elderly, no one is safe.

He definitely should sue, but this is a criminal case. Not just civil.

And the artist is lucky they didn't confiscate his film.

"I saw him being taken down to the ground and I tried to keep my camera focused on that as well, but they were pretty quick at setting up a barricade between myself and Kayvan at that point. I was shoved out of the way, and I had several guns pointed my way.

"I remember specifically one officer right in front of me having his gun pointed point blank at me."

Someone is going to get killed if someone in authority does not step in NOW and protect the American people from these criminals. And many people are asking for that interference now, all over twitter and the internet. Where are our representatives?

@MartiniSurfer
MartiniSurfer
@busterbnyc @OccupyMARINES Police Brutality has to stop NOW, before someone gets killed.

17 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Police Reform needs to be added to the list of reforms before they start shooting people in the streets like Mubarak.

[fasttense]

15. The government and their police squads are getting more and more violent.

When the teabaggers were running around yelling and spitting at Congressional representatives, when they were bringing guns to rallies, when they were beating up counter protesters, no police got violent with them. Police didn't pepper spray and beat one single fat, pasty teabagger.

Maybe the government and cops should have beaten a few teabaggers, just so the occupy movement knew what was in store for them.

What if this had happened to a tea bagger? Do you think the RepubliCON party would have remained mum?

I know occupy is not a democratic party funded movement but it is a liberal movement. So where is our supposed liberal president? Why hasn't the leader of the liberal party stood up and condemned the brutality and violence of the police?