Criminal
Aug. 1, 2002
Officers Tell Grand Jury They Didn't See Beating
LOS ANGELES - Two law enforcement officers swore to a grand jury that they did not see an Inglewood policeman beat a developmentally disabled teen-ager. Inglewood police Officer Mariano Salcedo and Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Carlos Lopez said, however, that they did hear Officer Jeremy Morse complain that 16-year-old Donovan Jackson had grabbed his testicles.
Inglewood police Officer Mariano Salcedo and Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Carlos Lopez said, however, that they did hear Officer Jeremy Morse complain that 16-year-old Donovan Jackson had grabbed his testicles.
"I wasn't looking, I wasn't paying attention," Lopez testified.
"I do recall Officer Morse stating, 'Let me go. Let me go,'" Salcedo testified.
The testimony comes from grand jury transcripts aired on KCAL-TV Monday and Tuesday.
Morse and his partner Bijan Darvish were indicted July 17, after 13 witnesses testified before a grand jury about the videotaped beating of Jackson on July 6.
Among the witnesses were at least two other law enforcement officers who testified the beating was outside the bounds of acceptable police procedure, according to KCAL.
The grand jury transcripts are scheduled to be released next Monday but portions were broadcast early by KCAL reporter David Goldstein. KCAL did not say how many transcripts it acquired or identify the officers who testified against Morse.
Among the transcripts the station said it had obtained was one of Jackson, who denied he resisted the officers.
Morse, seen on the video slamming Jackson violently onto the trunk of a police cruiser and punching him in the face, was charged with assault under the color of authority. Darvish was charged with filing a false police report. Both officers face three years in prison if convicted.
Morse's lawyer, John Barnett, did not return telephone calls Tuesday seeking comment on the transcripts. He has previously accused Jackson and his father, Coby Chavis Jr., of lying to enhance a lawsuit they filed against the officers. Darvish's lawyer, Ronald Brower, also could not be reached.
Officers at the scene of the beating claimed in police reports that Jackson resisted commands and struggled with them. Morse contends he hit Jackson because the youth grabbed his testicles.
Another videotape, taken by a security camera at a gas station where the altercation took place, gives an extended and different angle to the beating. Barnett said it might help clear his client.
According to the transcripts provided to the TV station, Jackson denied to the grand jury that he struggled with the officers.
"Did you ever try to punch or slap them?" he was asked.
"No," he said.
"Did you ever say anything during this entire incident that you intended to provoke these officers?" the grand jury asked.
"No," he said.
Although the videotape, which started midway through the arrest, shows only Morse punching Jackson, the teen-ager testified that four of the officers hit him. Jackson said he couldn't breathe and blacked out at one point.
"I'm going to break your nose," Jackson claimed Morse told him.
"The other officer said he was going to break my neck," Jackson said. He did not identify the other officer.
David Houston
david_houston@dailyjournal.com
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