(Click on photo to view video)
Police using a metal baton repeatedly beat a man even after he’s down, and the whole thing was captured on video by an amateur who just happened to be there.
That may sound like something out of L.A. in the last century, but it’s not. It’s San Jose 2009, and the beating victim is a 20-year-old Vietnamese exchange student, hit more than 10 times, including at least once on the head while another cop sic’ed his Taser gun on him, reports the San Jose Mercury News here.
The grainy cellphone video of the police attack on San Jose State math student Phuong Ho (Vietnamese: Hồ Quang Phương) was posted on the Mercury News web site. It shows Ho on the ground, crying and moaning, being hit repeatedly. Click on the picture above to view.
News of the beating came on the heels of a decision by the local grand jury, after a secret session with the D.A.’s office, not to prosecute any of the police involved in the fatal shooting of a mentally unstable Vietnamese man, Daniel Pham (read here).
An unavoidable question: Is this an isolated case, or is there a pattern of abuse or discrimination toward Vietnamese?
San Jose Police Assistant Chief Daniel Katz, after being shown the video by the newspaper, said the department takes the matter “very seriously.”
Police reports identify the officer who was beating Ho as officer Kenneth Siegel, and the one who Tasered him as officer Steven Payne, Jr.
The whole thing occured on September 3 when Ho’s roommate Jeremy Suftin splashed soap on Ho’s dinner steak. The two scuffled, and Ho picked up a steak knife, telling Suftin that in Vietnam, “I would kill you for this.”
Some roommates laughed at the comment, as shown on a videotape of that portion of the incident, but Suftin took it seriously, and called the police.
At least four officers responded. At that time, Ho was unarmed. According to police reports, Siegel asked Ho his name, but could not understand Ho’s accent. According to his interview with Nguoi Viet Daily News, Ho went to an elite school in Saigon for high achievers, Le Hong Phong High School.
So Siegel told Ho to stand still while he went into his room to check his wallet for ID. However, Ho proceeded to follow Siegel, and so Payne tried to handcuff him.
According to Payne’s report, he pushed Ho into a wall and then forced him to the hallway floor when Ho resisted being handcuffed.
Ho, however, said his glasses fell off and he was just going to pick them up when the police struck him.
It was then that another of Ho’s roommates, Dimitri Masouris, whipped out his cell phone and started videotaping.
That is the tape that the Mercury News posted. At one point, the handcuffs could be heard snapping, and another blow was delivered after that.
Police experts, many former chiefs and commanders at major departments, told the Mercury News that last hit, after handcuffs had been in place, is something of a no-no that probably qualifies as a felony.
The roommate sold the video to Ho’s lawyer, who provided it to the Mercury News.
See, when it is a good case, a lawyer will work for easy money…the Viet commie student just made bank for a few body blows. I would not mind taking a few punches are hundreds of thousands…
what did I tell you guys in the last post??? if we do not make any noises now, they would think that we are passive so they have a license to kill….I hope the next victim won’t be any of you or your loved ones…
Look at the LAPD when they beat up a group of illegal Mexicans protesting at a park a few years ago! Those people made more money than they could possibly imagine in their lifetime…so I say, take a few body shots and retire early…
The difference is the Viet student is being represented by a lawyer, and there is a video to make money on the SJPD…who really lost here? Not the student!
Jeremy Suftin sounds like a p*ssy, the kind who likes to humilate others but can’t take a joke…hey ahole, go play with yourself in a dark closet like you used to in your adopted home as an orphan!
if this is a black student, San Jose would’ve been burned down to the floor by now… Where is Ly Tong? Time for hunger strike!
I am curious if the victim is entitled to the same rights as an US citizen and keep the settlement.
Same sht!
I hope the lawyers and Phong Le could/would sue the pants off those cops, had them imprisoned after being fired, and never to be hired as a policeman again.
Still, don’t play the race card on my behalf, MF!
No amount of money could compensate for the humiliation, the physical & mental abuse that this student had to endured. A word of advise to Demitri, please watch your back. There’s nothing worse than a bad cops and believed me there are a lots of BAD cops out there.
Ho has been here only for 2 years and he must have lacked certain English communication skills and this must have given dumb cops an additional “incentive” to treat him like a criminal!
Fire the chief!
Per the SJMN article, the student admitted picking up a knife as he argued with a roommate. Perhaps this student did not learn from the knife wielding cases of Bich Cau Tran and Daniel Pham. He caused the trouble in the first place and should be charged with a criminal assault. The police officers should be charged with police misconduct and brutality.
it is time for the highly educated Viet youth to get out of your stupid home made boxes and protect the interest of the community. The purpose of forming various professional orgs is to lead the community not to have a place where you brag about your million dollars home or the Ivy league schools that your kids are attending…
I agree 100% gossipsaigon! We need a mental reform.
Wow…
Points proven here in this case. See the shooting death of Daniel Pham earlier and what i ve said about how police are trained?..Not just San Jose but pretty much everywhere. The Chief s definitely is to blamed on. Let s just forget about the same old ass excuse of police officers “fear” for their lives, so what do they do when they see an old skinny woman with a fruit peeler?..
Shoot her ass….That s what those pussy cops did.
And what do they do when they confront a retard with a knife?..
Shoot his ass…And that again exactly what those pussy cops did.
And then what do they do again when they, means more than one macho cop, did after they handcuffed a VC student?..Yup, that student s lucky they didn t shoot his ass.
But the similar patterns reflect how cops are trained….Not only they are told to choose the most lethal method, because there are told to constantly walk around in fear?…Sounds wrong but the truth are just like that.
Going back to Daniel Pham s case, if those cop would have knocked him down, why can t they?..Not only they earned great respect from the Pham s family, they also earned greater respect from others not envolved….And the Mercury News headlines would be like this…” Police officers risk own life to save a man s life” instead of ” Cops killing a retard man”..
Or ” Policeman saves woman from hurting herself”..instead of “Cops kill a retard woman with a 2 inch fruit peeling knife?…WTF?..The whole police department should ve been so shamed of themself to have partners like these working with them.
Tell me this, hoping some cops are reading this shit.
You cops ever looking at your locker mirror, admiring your own in-shape bodies, and telling yourself…..[secretely ofcourse]…”I m gonna beat up a skinny helpless woman or maybe a student today..Haaa..”.And do you ever feel any kind of shame?..A little?..
If you mofo cops, and i mean those rogue ones, think you re tough men, may i recommend a few MMA guys like Machida or Vitor Belfort?..No?..Tito Ortiz?..No?..Maybe a Vietnamese kid in San Jose name Cung Le?..Still a No?..Ohhh…A little woman with a lethal fruit peeler then?..A Yes right?..There you go machoheads.
Anyway, these cops should be tried and investigated by Internal Affair, locked-up and never will have any rights to work even as a security guard again.
And that poor VC student?.Learn some English would ya?..With all the bribe money your mom and dad took in back home, you should be able to afford a private ESL tutor.
I believe this beating on a hand cuffed viet student was uncalled for…whether this kid knew english or not.
this is the time for Tran Thai Van and Madison Nguyen:
1- through the State of California (indirect influence)
2- through the city of San Jose (direct boss of Police Department)
His English was not the problem, the problem was with the cops’ attitude & mentality. The student probaly was nervous and emotional so he probably sutter and hard to understand with his accent, but that was not an excuse for the cops to jump on him beat him senselessly.
Due to their dangerous line of duty, I’m often a pro-cop person, but I gotta admit it many times some cops are trigger happy, abusing their powers, using excessive and unnecessary physical violences.
Hot Fat, you make reporter a dumb ass.
This was definitely a abuse of power. Fire the police chief!
I just hate cop. From my previous experience, they are bias and racist. I was in a car accident a few year ago in Westminster, CA. I was hit by a caucasian man. He ran the red line. The assho* cop who responded,only asked the caucasian if he was alright even my car had more damages. I was lucky there was a Fire engine happend to be waiting and witnessed the accident. I believe if there was no witness the cop will side with the other guy. Another time, I was at the WPD headquarter and witnessed a Peace officers talked down to Vietnamese man. I guess he asked her for advices. After that, this same bitc** was so friendly to a caucasian.
And if they happen to come into your home or business, make sure you keep an eyes on them. They will use a tactic to distract you then steal your cash or jewelry. What can we expect when the law allows scumbags to hold a badge & a gun?
This incident happened on Sep. 3rd, 2009 and appeared on Mercury News yesterday, Oct. 25th. Seven weeks are quite a long time, isn’t it?
That exchange student deserved to be beaten to death, he is son of a filthy communist pig.
com.st…..Yeah let us beat your kid…he is a son of donkey hole.
All innocent lives are important and should be respected… ding dong!
I was told that many Viet coffee shop have been paying bribe to the police or the cops will visit their establishment more often to enforce the non smoking laws. Does anyone know about this extortion?
some people here evoke senseless polical stuffs! unbelievable stupid mind. I cannot believe how they were born or what mold their thinking.
Students are students! And if you are fighting the dictatorship of communism, then you must also fight against the injustice and brutality everywhere else, including the abuse of police authority in US.
vietnmese community leader nguyen ngoc tien gets order from vn to protect vc children abroad in san jose .he also asks madison nguyen why not supporting the vc children .
I see no beating in the Video, all I can hear sound like they’re having sex…
Is it Madision N. screaming like a Biatch…….?