Excessive force lawsuit heads to trial March 1
DOWNTOWN LA — A federal judge has ruled amateur video footage of a May 2002 Santa Monica Police beating should be played at trial because it will help a jury decide if the officers involved used excessive force.
In a written decision received this week, United States District Court Judge Audrey Collins dismissed City Hall’s concerns that the tape would be prejudicial because it doesn’t show the events that preceded the altercation.
“The court finds that the original mini DV recording will assist the jury in its determination of the facts...,” Judge Collins wrote. “The probative value of the mini DV recording outweighs any possible prejudice to defendants.”
Taped by an eyewitness from an upper-level balcony, the video footage shows SMPD Officer Salvador Lucio repeatedly strike Jeremy Naidoo on the head and shoulders with police-issued nun-chaku, a martial arts weapon. SMPD Officer Robert Lanam is seen kneeling on Naidoo’s back, pinning his right arm back, while SMPD Officer Michael Bambrick stands above Naidoo.
Lucio hits Naidoo four times rapidly before Bambrick and Lanam appear to restrain Naidoo’s left arm. Seven to eight seconds later, Lucio delivers a fifth blow.
Naidoo, who is suing the three officers, was pulled over on May 31, 2002 near the intersection of Third Street and Marine Avenue in Ocean Park for running a stop sign. After he was approached by officers, Naidoo reportedly ran from his car and threw away a bag full of drugs, according to police. The video begins after Naidoo has been tackled by police.
Deputy City Attorney Carol Rohr, who is representing the officers, fought to keep the footage out of trial, saying it was unfair because it didn’t depict the preceding events. She claimed “The events started when they turned on the lights and pulled the car over,” Rohr said after a pre-trial hearing Monday at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. “This (videotape) is 30 seconds, if that... It’s not the totality of the circumstances, or what the officers were dealing with.”
In excessive force cases, what jurors must decide is whether officers used “objective reasonableness” when considering the “totality of the situation,” according to Judge Collins and attorneys on both sides of the case.
Naidoo claims the video proves the officers used excessive force because they continued to strike him even after he was restrained. In the footage, Naidoo can be heard screaming, “Don’t hit me! Please don’t hit me!” Lucio can be heard yelling, “Get your arm back! Get your arm back!”
Naidoo didn’t suffer any debilitating injuries from the strikes, though his attorneys said he was treated for welts and abrasions to his head and shoulders. They also claimed attorneys at City Hall had not made any offers to settle the case, but declined to name a suitable amount.
In the criminal courts, Naidoo originally faced a third-strike conviction and 25 years to life behind bars on seven felony counts. After the video surfaced, prosecutors agreed to let Naidoo plead guilty to one misdemeanor charge that would be wiped away after he completed a drug diversion course, according to lawyers.
Attorneys for Naidoo, who obtained a copy of the video several weeks after the incident but kept it secret until forced to share the footage with City Hall last year, welcomed Judge Collins’ decision to let a jury view the footage.
“Basically, what we want to do is have the trier of fact see what happened, and video doesn’t lie,” said Don Randolph, a Santa Monica-based attorney who represents Naidoo.
During oral arguments Monday, Randolph asked for permission to play the video at trial in slow motion, pause it and zoom in on the picture at times, to show the jury exactly what took place. Rohr argued doing so would be unfair, adding jurors should view the incident at full speed, as the officers experienced it.
“It distorts the time,” Rohr told the court. “It distorts the circumstances under which this event took place.”
Though Judge Collins reserved making a ruling on that issue until lawyers submitted further written arguments, she indicated she likely would side with Rohr.
“This is not the speed in which it’s happening,” she said after watching the tape in slow motion. “That is not real life.”
Judge Collins ruled on a number of other issues seen as critical to the scheduled March 1 jury trial, including whether the media should have access to pre-trial hearings. Rohr requested the proceedings be held in private for fear that media reports may taint the jury pool. Judge Collins denied that request.
In another blow to the defense, Judge Collins ruled that photographs of the nun-chaku would not be sufficient and agreed to allow the actual items at trial. Additionally, Rohr lost in her request that the nunchaku not be called “nunchakus” or be referred to as “deadly weapons,” which they are under the California penal code. Rohr had asked the nunchaku only be called by their formal name: “Orcutt Police Nunchaku,” or “OPNs.”
The nunchaku Lucio used to hit Naidoo were made from two pieces of heavy, polyurethane plastic, connected by a short string of braided nylon, according to Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr., who has declined to discuss the case at the advice of City Attorney Marsha Moutrie.
Moutrie would discuss the case only to say excessive force cases are very rare in Santa Monica.
In other pre-trial matters, Judge Collins denied the city’s request to reference Naidoo’s criminal history at trial. Naidoo racked up a long criminal record as a juvenile, including convictions for driving under the influence, possession of a dangerous weapon, hit-and-run, resisting arrest and robbery, according to police records.
Judge Collins also denied a request from Naidoo’s attorneys to call as a witness Dr. Lawrence Ring, who sued the SMPD for excessive force several years ago after Bambrick reportedly broke his thumb and other bones in his hands as he handcuffed Ring for suspicion of driving under the influence, lawyers said. The excessive force suit was later dropped against Bambrick.
Neither Naidoo’s criminal history nor Bambrick’s prior incident had any bearing on Naidoo’s civil case against the SMPD officers, Judge Collins ruled.
Also to be excluded from trial is an audio tape of a 911 call made by eyewitness Daniel Weitzel, who insisted the emergency operator send out an officer so he could record a statement against the SMPD. Weitzel will be allowed to testify at trial, however.
Jeremy Naidoo’s father, Vassie Naidoo, a sixth-degree black belt in karate who runs a martial arts studio on Pico Boulevard, said his son was anxious to see the case get underway. Jeremy Naidoo is living with relatives in Las Vegas and attending meetings in an effort to stay off drugs, his father said.
“He’s doing good,” added Vassie Naidoo, 57, a native of South Africa who for 20 years owned and operated Palisades Bakery with his wife Sylvia. “He’s trying to get his life together... It’s going to probably affect him for the rest of his life. When you look at the tape — it’s shocking, actually.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 16, 2005. Read the original PDF.