Thread: MURRIETA: Border Patrol protesters sue city, sheriff

MURRIETA: Border Patrol protesters sue city, sheriff

The suit, filed by two men who were arrested during protests last year, alleges police misconduct and mistreatment in jail.


BY SARAH BURGE / STAF WRITER

Published: June 30, 2015 Updated: July 2, 2015 5:56 p.m.

MURRIETA IMMIGRATION DEMONSTRATIONS

Two men arrested during immigration protests a year ago outside the U.S. Border Patrol Station in Murrieta have sued the city and Riverside County, alleging misconduct by police and mistreatment in jail.

“All together, these young men paid far too high a price for exercising their First Amendment rights,” the court complaint says.
The suit, filed Monday, June 29, in federal court, comes as demonstrators on both sides of the issue are planning gatherings Wednesday to commemorate last year’s heated protests. During those events, anti-illegal immigration demonstrators turned away buses of detained Central American migrants bound for the Border Patrol station.
Police Capt. Dennis Vrooman said he hadn’t seen the lawsuit but was aware of the anniversary events.
“Our objective, just like it was last year, is to maintain peace and order,” Vrooman said.
Pouyan Bokaei, 33, and Salvador Chavez, 25, both of Los Angeles, were among five people arrested July 4 and charged with resisting arrest and lynching, which is defined under California law as taking a person from the lawful custody of an officer by means of a riot. The charges against the men were dismissed in February. Three others pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer.
Bokaei’s and Chavez’s lawsuit alleges that police sympathized with the anti-illegal immigration protesters. The plaintiffs accuse the officers of targeting pro-migrant protesters because of their political beliefs.
Gerald Singleton, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said the police had no probable cause to arrest Bokaei and Chavez and that officers used unnecessary force against them.
“The hope of this is that it will convince them to take these kinds of things seriously,” Singleton said. “It was not a good day for them.”
Jeff Morris, an attorney for the city, said he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit and couldn’t comment.
But Police Capt. Rob Firmes has previously said that he believed the officers showed “tremendous restraint.”
Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Manning said he couldn’t comment on pending litigation.
Authorities had said police tried to arrest Janet Mathieson, 23, of Claremont, for obstructing an officer and Bokaei intervened. They said Mathieson jumped on an officer’s back and the other three defendants joined in the effort to free her and Bokaei.
Accoreding to the lawsuit, an anti-illegal-immigration protester had menaced Mathieson and another woman after they approached the opposing camp. But instead of restraining the anti-illegal-immigration protester, an officer grabbed Mathieson, the court complaint says. She tried to break free from his grasp.
According to the plaintiffs, video of the incident shows Bokaei was not one of the people who tried to help Mathieson free herself. His only physical contact with police was when an officer threw him to the ground while Bokaei and other protesters were walking to their cars, the suit alleges. Bokaei was face down on the ground when the officer pressed his knee into Bokaei’s back, breaking three of his ribs, the complaint says.
According to the lawsuit, Chavez, too, was not involved in the physical confrontation with police but was standing nearby. Singleton said Chavez had been shooting video.
Chavez and Bokaei allege they received inadequate medical care while at the Southwest Detention Center in French Valley. According to the complaint, Chavez was placed in a filthy area of the jail and contracted a serious, antibiotic-resistant infection.

http://www.pe.com/articles/bokaei-77...ce-chavez.html

There is video of these two professional protesters attacking the police when their friend was being detained. More abuse by illegals, frivilous law suits...
Will look for he video, in the mean time, they were arrested for LYNCHING.
http://www.alipac.us/f12/5-face-%91l...iot%92-306394/

Here it is. From the ALIPAC youtube channel.

Illegal alien supporters attacking police and Americans, 5 arrested in Murrieta, CA