That may sound like something out of L.A. in the last century, but it’s not. It’s San Jose 2009, and the beating victim is a 20-year-old Vietnamese exchange student, hit more than 10 times, including at least once on the head while another cop sic’ed his Taser gun on him, reports the San Jose Mercury News here.
The grainy cellphone video of the police attack on San Jose State math student Phuong Ho was posted on the Mercury News web site. It shows Ho on the ground, crying and moaning, being hit repeatedly. Click on the picture above to view.
News of the beating came on the heels of a decision by the local grand jury, after a secret session with the D.A.’s office, not to prosecute any of the police involved in the fatal shooting of a mentally unstable Vietnamese man, Daniel Pham (read here).
An unavoidable question: Is this an isolated case, or is there a pattern of abuse or discrimination toward Vietnamese?
San Jose Police Assistant Chief Daniel Katz, after being shown the video by the newspaper, said the department takes the matter “very seriously.”
Police reports identify the officer who was beating Ho as officer Kenneth Siegel, and the one who Tasered him as officer Steven Payne, Jr.
The whole thing occured on September 3 when Ho’s roommate Jeremy Suftin splashed soap on Ho’s dinner steak. The two scuffled, and Ho picked up a steak knife, telling Suftin that in Vietnam, “I would kill you for this.”
Some roommates laughed at the comment, as shown on a videotape of that portion of the incident, but Suftin took it seriously, and called the police.
At least four officers responded. At that time, Ho was unarmed. According to police reports, Siegel asked Ho his name, but could not understand Ho’s accent. According to his interview with Nguoi Viet Daily News, Ho went to an elite school in Saigon for high achievers, Le Hong Phong High School.
So Siegel told Ho to stand still while he went into his room to check his wallet for ID. However, Ho proceeded to follow Siegel, and so Payne tried to handcuff him.
According to Payne’s report, he pushed Ho into a wall and then forced him to the hallway floor when Ho resisted being handcuffed.
Ho, however, said his glasses fell off and he was just going to pick them up when the police struck him.
It was then that another of Ho’s roommates, Dimitri Masouris, whipped out his cell phone and started videotaping.
That is the tape that the Mercury News posted. At one point, the handcuffs could be heard snapping, and another blow was delivered after that.
Police experts, many former chiefs and commanders at major departments, told the Mercury News that last hit, after handcuffs had been in place, is something of a no-no that probably qualifies as a felony.
The roommate sold the video to Ho’s lawyer, who provided it to the Mercury News.
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Drew259- wolfwood, are you a huge dude that loves leg locks?
i think you tapped me repeatedly at ucsd. for good measure you even sprawled on my face suffocating me. Thank you for those memories
That's horrible etc, but why on earth is everyone and their uncle from any random country in the world, knowing 0 english and nothing of the culture, allowed to settle in the US?
That's horrible etc, but why on earth is everyone and their uncle from any random country in the world, knowing 0 english and nothing of the culture, allowed to settle in the US?
The average Vietnamese earns more than the average white person from the midwest. We need more Vietnamese and less midwest idiots. You should know this especially since you're from the Bay Area.
That's horrible etc, but why on earth is everyone and their uncle from any random country in the world, knowing 0 english and nothing of the culture, allowed to settle in the US?
So several generations later they can have dumb progeny like you that stake some ill-informed claim to the American homeland.
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"I thought the stimulus was worse then 9/11." - Dysentery
That's horrible etc, but why on earth is everyone and their uncle from any random country in the world, knowing 0 english and nothing of the culture, allowed to settle in the US?
little things called the vietnam war and the cold war go read about it dumbass
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Drew259- wolfwood, are you a huge dude that loves leg locks?
i think you tapped me repeatedly at ucsd. for good measure you even sprawled on my face suffocating me. Thank you for those memories
I found and posted a different article he is a math student here on a exchange program
well I hope it is okay when our exchange students get beat in other coutries
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Drew259- wolfwood, are you a huge dude that loves leg locks?
i think you tapped me repeatedly at ucsd. for good measure you even sprawled on my face suffocating me. Thank you for those memories
