NJFFSA16
10-25-2002, 05:10 AM
In case you were wondering.....
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Inglewood police officer facing a
criminal trial in the videotaped beating of a handcuffed
16-year-old has been fired, authorities said.
"I conducted a hearing, and I made my final decision,"
Inglewood Police Chief Ronald Banks said Thursday.
Jeremy Morse, the police officer whose beating of a teenager in
July was caught on videotape and broadcast nationwide, was
terminated effective Oct. 14.
Morse has been on paid administrative leave since the July 6
incident, which led to charges of police brutality and comparisons
with the beating of Rodney King.
A bystander's videotape showed Morse lifting a handcuffed
Donovan Jackson to his feet, slamming his head onto a squad car and
punching and choking him.
Jackson and his father, Coby Chavis, were stopped at a gas
station by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies because their car
had expired tags. Morse and his partner, Bijan Darvish, arrived as
Chavis was being questioned.
A police report states that Jackson violently resisted arrest
and Morse claims that the teen grabbed his groin.
Morse was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of assault under
color of law. Darvish was indicted on a charge of filing a false
police report after the incident. Both officers have pleaded not
guilty.
Morse's attorney has asked the city to begin the process of
arbitration, a standard option for terminated employees, officials
said. During arbitration, the city and the Inglewood Police
Association will pick an arbitrator to review the case and then
forward an opinion to City Administrator Joseph T. Rouzan Jr.
Rouzan then will either validate the chief's decision or
recommend another action.
Darvish, who faces a 10-day suspension without pay for
"omission of information" on a police report, is expected to meet
Friday with Banks for a hearing on disciplinary charges.
The city's actions were taken after a Superior Court judge
issued, then lifted, a restraining order in late August, clearing
the way for Banks to fire Morse. Banks initiated the process on
Aug. 1 that led to the termination.
"There are a lot of due process rules," Rouzan said. "They
can still wind up appealing this to a state court, and perhaps even
further, if their attorneys decide to fight it."
Morse's lawyer in the city employment case could not be reached
for comment Thursday.
Darvish's lawyer, Corey Glave, said his client would challenge
any disciplinary action against him.
"We are challenging the recommendation of discipline; at some
point in time there will be a predisciplinary hearing," Glave
said.
Morse's defense had argued that the Police Department failed to
advise him of his constitutional rights before he was questioned,
and that he was not allowed to have his attorney present at an
interrogation.
Morse also said that investigators had kept important documents
from his defense.
A judge had halted the disciplinary process, but then ruled that
the internal investigation had been proper and allowed the city to
proceed.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
---------------------------------------------
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Inglewood police officer facing a
criminal trial in the videotaped beating of a handcuffed
16-year-old has been fired, authorities said.
"I conducted a hearing, and I made my final decision,"
Inglewood Police Chief Ronald Banks said Thursday.
Jeremy Morse, the police officer whose beating of a teenager in
July was caught on videotape and broadcast nationwide, was
terminated effective Oct. 14.
Morse has been on paid administrative leave since the July 6
incident, which led to charges of police brutality and comparisons
with the beating of Rodney King.
A bystander's videotape showed Morse lifting a handcuffed
Donovan Jackson to his feet, slamming his head onto a squad car and
punching and choking him.
Jackson and his father, Coby Chavis, were stopped at a gas
station by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies because their car
had expired tags. Morse and his partner, Bijan Darvish, arrived as
Chavis was being questioned.
A police report states that Jackson violently resisted arrest
and Morse claims that the teen grabbed his groin.
Morse was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of assault under
color of law. Darvish was indicted on a charge of filing a false
police report after the incident. Both officers have pleaded not
guilty.
Morse's attorney has asked the city to begin the process of
arbitration, a standard option for terminated employees, officials
said. During arbitration, the city and the Inglewood Police
Association will pick an arbitrator to review the case and then
forward an opinion to City Administrator Joseph T. Rouzan Jr.
Rouzan then will either validate the chief's decision or
recommend another action.
Darvish, who faces a 10-day suspension without pay for
"omission of information" on a police report, is expected to meet
Friday with Banks for a hearing on disciplinary charges.
The city's actions were taken after a Superior Court judge
issued, then lifted, a restraining order in late August, clearing
the way for Banks to fire Morse. Banks initiated the process on
Aug. 1 that led to the termination.
"There are a lot of due process rules," Rouzan said. "They
can still wind up appealing this to a state court, and perhaps even
further, if their attorneys decide to fight it."
Morse's lawyer in the city employment case could not be reached
for comment Thursday.
Darvish's lawyer, Corey Glave, said his client would challenge
any disciplinary action against him.
"We are challenging the recommendation of discipline; at some
point in time there will be a predisciplinary hearing," Glave
said.
Morse's defense had argued that the Police Department failed to
advise him of his constitutional rights before he was questioned,
and that he was not allowed to have his attorney present at an
interrogation.
Morse also said that investigators had kept important documents
from his defense.
A judge had halted the disciplinary process, but then ruled that
the internal investigation had been proper and allowed the city to
proceed.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)