SAN JOSE, Calif. - A cellphone video that shows police officers repeatedly hitting an unarmed San Jose State student with batons and stunning him with a Taser gun has prompted a criminal investigation into the officers’ conduct, a San Jose police spokesman said.
The video, posted by the San Jose Mercury News on its website, shows one officer hitting Phuong Ho, 20, with a metal baton more than 10 times, including once on the head. Another officer is seen using his Taser gun..
The final baton strike in the incident last month appears to take place after Ho was handcuffed.
“It takes me back to the day I saw the Rodney King video on TV,’’ said Roger Clark, a law enforcement specialist and a retired lieutenant with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. The last baton strike ought to bring a felony charge, he said.
Officers arrested Ho on suspicion of assaulting one of his roommates. He told the newspaper that he did not resist arrest.
The confrontation began Sept. 3 when Ho’s roommate, Jeremy Suftin, put soap on Ho’s steak. The two scuffled and Ho allegedly picked up a steak knife. Police were called, and four officers responded.
Ho resisted arrest, according to police reports.
One of Ho’s roommates, Dimitri Masouris, captured the arrest on his cellphone.
