Students take on SJPD after alleged Mardi Gras incident

From the Spartan Daily
By Laura Rheinheimer
Date: 3/6/06
Section: News

Two female San Jose State University students have enlisted the help of the NAACP after filing charges against the San Jose Police Department for allegedly using excessive force during Tuesday's Mardi Gras celebration.

Natasha Burton and Sharetta Henderson have asked Rick Callender, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to help in their allegation of police misconduct on early Wednesday morning, when SJPD were attempting to keep crowds under control.

Callender said several of the women involved have been interviewed by the Santa Clara County civil grand jury about the incident.

SJPD arrested 25 people and issued 238 citations during the Mardi Gras celebrations in downtown San Jose. Four people were stabbed and several cars were vandalized Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, said SJPD public information officer Enrique Garcia.

Burton, a junior majoring in sociology with a minor in criminal justice, who said she wants to be a parole officer, was arrested on charges of resisting arrest in front of City Hall as she and others were heading to campus slightly after midnight on Wednesday morning.

Burton said her mother is a police officer in Southern California.

She and Henderson allege that the police used excessive force after telling the women to go home. Others in the group have made similar claims but say they will not file complaints against the SJPD.

SJPD spokesman Nick Muyo said Internal Affairs will run its course to "find out if there's any misconduct on the part of police."

On a video recorded by CBS Channel 5, a woman later identified as Henderson can be seen whacked on the leg by a nightstick.

Police have identified the officers involved but have not yet identified the witness seen on the CBS video, Muyo said.

What is crucial is what happened in the 15 minutes before the incident, said San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis in a CBS television interview.

The witness, who asked that his full name not be used, said he was the only witness to the incident.

"I saw it from beginning to end," said the witness. "They didn't do nothing to provoke the cops to bring out their billy clubs and knock that girl to the ground."

He said he saw a woman arrested after an officer beat her and was told by another officer to arrest her.

"They're cops - they're not supposed to do stuff like that," he said.

Callender said he reviewed four independent tapes of the women and police clashing in front of City Hall. He said an officer swung at Henderson and she swung back. Another officer swung from the top and barely missed Henderson, Callender said.

"The whole thing is dirty," Callender said. "There's multiple violations here. What you have is an issue of force."

In a meeting on Thursday evening with the women involved, Callender said Internal Affairs has not found one complaint valid over the past five years.

Callender said the problem is part of a deeper problem of the mistreatment of "black and brown" in the downtown area.

"This happens a lot," Callender said.

He said the NAACP will pick up a class action suit against the SJPD.

"I'd like to see that officer disciplined or removed from the force," Callender said. "I believe (Henderson) has a civil action. We have so many black and brown folks being arrested for resisting arrest. They don't understand it's a misdemeanor."

Callender said he will ask Police Chief Davis to drop the charges against Burton.

"It's really offensive to me as a woman who respects the law," Burton said.