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From the San Francisco Chronicle's Web site. BTW, Mayor Roosevelt Dorn is African-American. Inglewood is mainly an African-American and Latino city.
Mayor calls for firing of Inglewood officer videotaped hitting teen
By EUGENE TONG, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, July 9, 2002
©2002 Associated Press
(07-09) 12:40 PDT INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) --
The police officer videotaped slamming a handcuffed teen into a car and punching him should be fired, Mayor Roosevelt F. Dorn said Tuesday.
"Based on the investigation he should be fired, no question about it, that's my opinion," Dorn told a City Hall news conference. Outside, dozens of angry protesters shouted, "No justice, no peace."
The investigation has not been completed, and Dorn called for it to wrap up within 10 days. He reached his conclusions from viewing a bystander's videotape of the Saturday evening incident, which has been shown repeatedly on television.
The tape shows Officer Jeremy Morse smashing 16-year-old Donovan Jackson's face into a car, then striking him in the face during an arrest at a gas station.
"In my opinion there isn't any question about the fact that when this officer picked this young man up, slammed him down on the hood of that car, in my opinion, number one felony assault, number two assault with a deadly weapon -- the deadly weapon was a car -- number three battery, number four child abuse, and I'm sure if I looked there are other crimes," said Dorn.
The mayor said he is familiar with criminal prosecutions because he was a judge prior to 1993 when he became mayor. Inglewood, a city of 115,000 in southwestern Los Angeles County, has a police force of 211 uniformed officers.
"My people are not going to riot when justice is done," he said in response to a question about whether protests could lead to a disturbance. "... This is not another Rodney King."
Morse, a three-year veteran, could not be reached for comment. A phone message left for the president of the Inglewood Police Officers Association was not immediately returned.
Dorn said Jackson's civil rights were violated and he called on the district attorney's office to act.
The Inglewood Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the district attorney's office and the FBI are conducting parallel investigations. Morse was put on leave Monday with pay. Morse is white and Jackson is black.
Jackson's father claims an officer used a racial slur during the incident. Police deny that.
Another person who claims he was victimized by Morse has also come forward.
Neilson Williams, 32, claims he was handcuffed and beaten by Morse and other officers June 23. Williams, who is black, alleges the officers gave no explanation for stopping him. He said he has filed a formal complaint with Inglewood police. Sgt. Ron Ragan said the complaint is confidential and an investigation is being conducted.
The videotape of Saturday's incident shows Morse hoisting the prone teenager to his feet and slamming him onto the rear trunk of a police car. Two other Inglewood officers appeared to intervene, with at least one trying to pull away the first officer's arm.
Morse and three other Inglewood officers were assisting sheriff's Deputies Carlos Lopez and Daniel Leon, who were investigating a car that had an expired vehicle registration. The teen was a passenger in the car, which was being driven by his father, Coby Chavis, 41, who also was cited for driving with a suspended license.
Inglewood police and sheriff's officials said the teen lunged at the deputies and was combative, while the boy's father and his family attorney said he cooperated with police and Morse attacked him unprovoked.
Exactly what happened before the camera rolled remained under investigation. Ragan said sheriff's investigators had collected images from gas station surveillance cameras but they had not yet been reviewed.
The teen was booked for investigation of assault on a peace officer after the incident. The family's lawyer, Joe Hopkins, said the teen is developmentally disabled and a special education student with no arrest record.
The video was recorded by a man who was staying at a motel across the street.
©2002 Associated Press
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