Hung jury on police beating of Donovan Jackson?

“It seemed to be a clear-cut case of police brutality. Officer Jeremy Morse was videotaped slamming young Donovan Jackson’s head onto the trunk of a police car and punching him in the face,” exclaimed Congresswoman Maxine Waters when she learned that Morse’s trial had ended in a hung jury, split 7-5 in favor of conviction. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said he would seek a new trial. Who is also up for a re-election bid march 4 2004 in the CA primary elections.

This is a list of the people running against him.

ROGER CARRICK
Public Law Attorney
350 S Grand Av Ste 2930
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: (213) 346-7930
Email: roger@carricklawgroup.com

TOM HIGGINS
P O Box 692
La Verne, CA 91750
Phone: (909) 593-3397

DENISE BERYL MOEHLMAN
Criminal Prosecutor
P O Box 7141
Van Nuys, CA 91409
Phone: (818) 769-2035
Email: 76170.1423@compuserve.com NP

NICK PACHECO
Municipal Attorney
888 S Figueroa St 15th Fl
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: (213) 489-1513

ANTHONY G. PATCHETT
Retired Deputy D.A.
P O Box 5232
Glendale, CA 91221
Phone: (818) 243-8863
Email: mrenvirlaw@sbcglobal.net NP

Please Call them and ask what their stance is on prosecuting corrupt police.

“It is impossible for me to understand why the videotape was not accepted as fact by the jury. This verdict appears to once again show preference to law enforcement officers who misuse their authority and betray the citizens they are sworn to protect and to serve,” said Congresswoman Waters.

The jury included only one Black, a young man ordered back onto the panel by the judge after lawyers for the police officers had rejected all the other Blacks in the jury pool. The case had been transferred from a courthouse in Inglewood, where the crime occurred, to an isolated courthouse near LA airport.

“Jeremy Morse is a coward,” declared Mitchell Crooks, the young man who videotaped the beating, shared the tape with the media and then was summarily whisked off to jail for a previous offense. “Only a coward would punch a child in handcuffs!”

It was Mitchell Crooks’ videotape, seen by millions around the world, that convicted Morse in the court of public opinion. Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope told the press as a tense crowd awaited the jury verdict, “If Mitchell had uncovered a terrorist plot, he would be a hero. He was put in jail because he uncovered police brutality and racial profiling.”

Though Crooks saw the entire incident and videotaped most of it, he was not called as a witness at Morse’s trial. “They did not ask me to testify. They did not ask any of the 20 people on my video to testify. They did not ask any of the people Morse and Darvish beat up before Donovan Jackson to testify,” said Crooks.

One victim of Morse and his partner, Bijan Darvish, had been beaten into a coma and was still in the hospital when the officers brutalized Donovan Jackson. “They almost beat me to death,” said that victim, Neilson Williams. Nothing about the brutal history of Morse or Darvish was presented to the jury.

Most of the key witnesses were law enforcement officers. One civilian witness testified in favor of the cops - a white tourist from New Zealand who was flown halfway around the world and put up at an airport hotel in exchange for his testimony.

Young Donovan Jackson testified that he had not felt the blows from Officer Morse. Jackson said he was “not awake” at the time. When he regained consciousness, Morse threatened to break his nose. “Did he say anything else?” asked the prosecutor. Donovan told the jury, “He said it’s his world.”

“It is little wonder why so many young people have so little trust in officers of the law,” observed Congresswoman Waters. “It is little wonder these young people live in fear they can and will be brutalized by police officers who need not be concerned about being held accountable for their actions.”

Donovan Jackson and his father, Coby Chavis, have state and federal civil rights lawsuits pending against the officers, the city and Los Angeles County. “We are hopeful that this next time around, justice will be served and we in the meantime will proceed vigorously with the civil lawsuit,” said Jackson’s attorney, Camryn Stewart.

Isidra Person-Lynn, media director for Los Angeles Black Business Expo, mc and the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality (nobrutality@sbcglobal.net) contributed to this report.

And Check Out Mitchell Crooks New Website