SAN JOSE (KCBS/CBS-5/AP) -- Cell phone video footage appears to support a San Jose State University student’s claim he did not resist arrest when struck by police after an alleged scuffle his roommate.
An enhanced version of the video created by a forensic expert at the request of the San Jose Mercury News shows 20-year-old Phuong Ho yelling for his glasses and apologizing to police after being hit with a baton.
“I’m just looking for my glasses,” he can be heard saying as he’s being beaten and shocked by police. The video shows one officer hitting Ho more than 10 times, including once I the head.
KCBS' Matt Bigler reports
Ho said the four police officers used excessive force when called to Ho’s apartment on September 3 to investigate reports he had threatened a roommate. The video does not show what happened just before the arrest.
The confrontation began when Ho's roommate, Jeremy Suftin, put soap on Ho's steak. The two scuffled, and Ho picked up a steak knife, saying that in his home country he would have killed Suftin for doing what he did.
The final baton strike in last month's incident appears to take place after handcuffs have been attached to Ho's wrists. He was not armed when police arrived.
Officers Kenneth Siegel, Steven Payne Jr., Jerome Smith and Gabriel Reyes are on paid administrative leave while the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office decides whether to file criminal charges.
(jro)
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