Undisclosed Settlement Reached for 14 Year Old Disabled Black boy beaten by Inglewood Police on Video Tape
Wednesday, March 9, 2005 at 01:59PM
TheSpook
The family of a 16-year-old boy who was
videotaped being beaten by police officers - a scandal which shocked
the world - has agreed to settle a federal civil rights case for an
undisclosed sum, a lawyer for Inglewood city said yesterday. In the
bystander's video the handcuffed Donovan Jackson, who is black, is seen
being punched in the head by a white officer. He is then slammed into a
patrol car. The incident in 2002 was resonant of the Rodney King
beating by Los Angeles police officers 14 years ago. The city and Los
Angeles county did not admit any wrongdoing in the tentative agreement,
Albert DeBlanc said. The family's lawyer could not be reached for
comment yesterday. Donovan, who suffers from hearing, speech and
learning difficulties, was returning to his car after paying for petrol
when the officers told him to drop the crisps he was eating and put his
hands on the car. A young white DJ staying at a hotel nearby heard the
commotion and ran outside to record the beating. It was broadcast
around the world. The officer, Jeremy Morse said he had reacted
forcefully after Jackson grabbed his testicles during an arrest at a
petrol station. The videotape did not show whether any grabbing
occurred. Mr Morse was sacked and his one-time partner Bijan Darvish
was suspended for 10 days for filing a report which allegedly failed to
mention Mr Morse's conduct. A judge dismissed a criminal charge of
assault against Mr Morse after two juries failed to reach a verdict. In
January a jury awarded $1.6m to Mr Morse and $811,000 to Mr Darvish,
who sued Inglewood for discrimination, arguing that a black officer who
allegedly hit Jackson with a flashlight received a lesser punishment. [more]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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