Scott Smith’s Conviction Overturned
Stephanie Mohr Sentenced to 10 Years
Profile: COPS Helps Families of Slain Officers
California Policeman Indicted:
Use of Force At Issue
Two California policemen face a highly-politicized and publicized trial in a case that parallels the Rodney King incident. Officer Jeremy Morse is shown above.
Members of the Inglewood Police Department received a memo on July 4, 2002, from the Gang Intelligence Unit that the Queen Street Blood Gang was considering a hit on a police officer. Two days later, in a highly-charged atmosphere, deputies Carlos Lopez and Mariano Salcedo of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department stopped a car and asked the occupants to get out. One of the passengers, Donovan Jackson, vigorously objected when told to turn around so that he could be patted down. Jackson became angry and lunged at Deputy Lopez with clenched fists.
During the altercation, Officers Jeremy Morse and Bijan Darvish of the Inglewood P.D. arrived on the scene. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has pre-arranged codes to let other law enforcement officer know if they need help. If they are not in need of reinforcement, the officers raise four fingers. Not seeing such a signal, Officers Morse and Darvish stopped to lend assistance. At that point, suspect Jackson was angry and out of control. He then attempted to take on all four officers. It took several minutes for the four policemen to subdue and handcuff Jackson, who had been hitting and grabbing the police.
When Jackson was finally handcuffed, Officer Morse tried to help Jackson into the police cruiser but the suspect went limp and refused to cooperate. Officer Morse lifted Jackson off the ground in a technique called “the wedge,” which is taught in police training, and put him on the trunk of the car. At that point, suspect Jackson managed to grab Morse’s crotch; Morse, in pain, yelled at him to let go. When Jackson refused to release his hold, Morse punched Jackson.
Much of the incident was recorded on two video tapes — a surveillance tape from a gas station and another by a citizen passing by (who can be overheard on the video saying that he hoped to make a lot of money with the tape). In the gas station tape, the struggle with the four policemen to subdue Jackson is very detailed. Officer Morse can be seen lifting Jackson off the ground. When Jackson is placed on the trunk, the vehicle does not bounce and it does not appear that Jackson was dropped.
The citizen’s tape focuses mostly on the ground when Jackson was fighting the police officers and zooms in on the officers using restrained force. The tapes show clearly the struggle with the police but no excessive force is contained. The angle of the videos does not show Jackson grabbing Morse’s crotch but does capture a pained expression on his face before he hit Jackson. Both show Officer Morse placing Jackson on the trunk — and the now famous punch by Officer Morse when Jackson grabbed his crotch. There are no discrepancies between the tapes and the reports filed by the officers.
Two Inglewood Police Department “Use-of-Force” experts reviewed the videos and agreed that excessive force was not used by Officer Morse. Jackson was not injured and did not require medical attention. John Barnett, Morse’s attorney, told LELDF that the Chief of Police in Inglewood initially was sympathetic to Morse but due to political pressure from Rev. Al Sharpton and the Mayor of Inglewood, withdrew his support. Barnett says that the punch was justified.
However, on July 17, 2002, Officer Jeremy Morse, 24, was indicted for assault for hitting Jackson, and Officer Bijan Darvish was indicted for filing a false report. The latter charge stems from his failure to mention “the wedge” maneuver that Morse used in lifting up the suspect. However, the video shows Darvish examining his injured knee at the time that Morse was lifting up the suspect. Darvish’s report is complete and accurate in all the other details of the incident. He even admits to hitting the suspect twice himself when he was among the four police who were trying to subdue Jackson, but he is not charged for that.
The LELDF has decided that this case merits our involvement, especially since the local police union is not supporting the officers. The use of force was moderate and suited to the aggression of Jackson, as the “use-of-force” experts concurred. The “wedge” maneuver was not excessive, and Morse had no other option than to hit Jackson when the latter was gripping Morse’s crotch. If Morse had pulled away, he would have experienced additional pain.
The prosecution appears to be motivated by politics. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) has been in the media demanding indictments. The Rev. Al Sharpton compared this to the Louima case and also urged indictments. The media have attempted to portray this as a racial incident but, in fact, four races are involved in the police population: Morse is white, Darvish is Middle Eastern, and the other two officers are Hispanic and black.
We will keep you advised of the developments in this case as they unfold.
