Posted on 07/21/2002 2:06:43 PM PDT by archy
2nd Calif. officer removed from duty
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) - The partner of a white policeman who was videotaped punching a handcuffed black teenager has been removed from active duty after acknowledging that he too struck the youth.
Officer Bijan Darvish will remain on paid administrative leave while the July 6 incident is investigated; Officer Jeremy Morse was suspended earlier.
Darvish does not appear on the video, which was shot by a bystander across the street. But in a police report, he acknowledged punching Donovan Jackson twice in the face after the 16-year-old allegedly grabbed his shirt.
The confrontation occurred before Morse was captured on tape slamming the teen's head against the patrol car and punching him in the face.
Both officers have been indicted by a grand jury. Morse pleaded innocent Thursday to an assault charge and Darvish pleaded innocent to filing a false police report, which did not mention Morse's actions.
It was not immediately clear when Darvish, who also is white, was suspended, although authorities said it was sometime after his indictment Wednesday. His lawyer has said Darvish was not indicted for hitting Jackson because the grand jurors found that he used "lawful, reasonable force."
The altercation occurred after Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies approached Coby Chavis at a gas station about the expired license plates on his car. Morse, 24, and Darvish, 25, were among Inglewood officers who arrived to provide backup.
They said Jackson, who is Chavis' son, was handcuffed after he refused to follow orders and became combative. The teenager's relatives have said he is developmentally disabled and does not quickly process commands.
The incident has sparked federal and local investigations and demonstrations in Inglewood, a suburb southwest of Los Angeles that has a large black population.
We'll see what federal charges follow. And of course, the civil suits have already been filed....
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