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Victim of Salinas police beating indicted for assaulting officer

by IndyRadio/DavidRoknich
The only charges against Velasco were those generated by the attack on him by the police. They claim he attacked them with a deadly weapon, assaulted them, and resisted arrest. "My Poor Brother. He is mentally ill and the cops had no right to keep hitting him he was already on the floor. The cops have done this too many times. I see the cops in the ER walking around like they got hurt. Bull shit. He didn't hurt any of them cops. And to do that in front of my mom is so harsh. Praying for everyone in Salinas. The cops are out of control. And they can be: who's going to stop them?" A claim for damages has been ignored by the City of Salinas (attached at end)
beating_velasco.jpg

Five months after a shocking video revealed business as usual by the Salinas Police Department, media has largely forgotten Jose Velasco, whose life story is a tragedy of our time. Less than a full day after the video of Velasco being repeatedly clubbed and beaten by 5 policemen while on the pavement, Los Angeles Times gave Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin the headline he wanted: "Salinas police beating video looks 'horrific' but there's context, chief says". The context the police provided supports only their narrative. The victim, incarcerated and hospitalized had a bit more difficulty reaching the public.

It is a narrative of our time. It is the story of a young man, raised in poverty, and mentally hobbled. On the day of the incident, he was in a state of delirium, and had a crisis trying to cross the street. This might have ended with him in the arms of his mother, but the police fought to separate them and manufacture a reason to haul him off the street for his erratic behavior. As former Illinois Governor John Altgeld noted in his pardon of the Haymarket anarchists, some people tend to take offense, and seek retribution when unreasonably attacked by police. A combination of mental illness and street drugs might exacerabate this tendency, I would add.

The police claim they were seriously injured by this dangerous criminal resisting arrest. Did the Media bother to interview his sister,  Antoinette Ramirez?

"My Poor Brother. He is mentally ill and the cops had no right to keep hitting him he was already on the floor. The cops have done this too many times. I see the cops in the ER walking around like they got hurt. Bull shit. He didn't hurt any of them cops. And to do that in front of my mom is so harsh. Praying for everyone in Salinas. The cops are out of control. And they can be: who's going to stop them?"

The police lied in their statement when they first claimed he "threw his mother into traffic" and then claimed "he was slamming her on the ground". When they finally came to agreement on the best story, they published it as a "fact sheet" on their website, and sent out press releases. All this, paid for by the citizens of Monterrey County, to manufacture a conviction.

The only charges against Velasco were those generated by the attack on him by the police. They claim he attacked them with a deadly weapon, assaulted them, and resisted arrest.

The long term problems of the Salinas PD have drawn the attention of the US DOJ, who visited Salinas on June 30th for a listening session that was planned long before Velasco was beaten. They came a second time, in July to aftering being called by Chief McMillan regarding 4 shootings by police in 2014. We await reports from these 2 listening sessions.

Had Velasco been a Hollywood star, he'd be chilling in one of the best clinics right now. But five months later, with his physical wounds barely healed, he finds himself incarcerated pending trial and there's no mention anywhere of treatment or compensation for his pain and suffering at the hands of misguided and overzealous Peace Officers.

On 15june15, civil rights attorney John Burris placed a claim against the City of Salinas with the intention of filing a lawsuit, failing a response. In the coming days we hope to have answers from The City of Salinas and Mr. Burris.

Meanwhile, after a preliminary hearing (held 5nov15) Monterey County Superior Court Judge Julie Culver found there was sufficient evidence to try Velasco for 2 felonies and a misdemeanor, likely due to the failure of defense attorney Thomas O'Keefe to assert the chain of events as they happened rather than as presented by the police, who have applied voluminous layers of cover to the story in multiple reports - starting from Day 1, featured by the Los Angeles Times.

Burris was present at the hearing, taking notes.

Jose Velasco will be arraigned on December 1 in Courtroom 4 of Monterey County Superior Court, 240 Church St, Salinas: Case number CRSS151092A People vs. Velasco, Jose Alberto,

###

David Roknich

INDYRADIO

The future of radio belongs to us. New playlists are linked at http://ch0.us

§Claim for Damages
by IndyRadio/DavidRoknich
jose-velasco-v--city-of-salinas.pdf_600_.jpg
Filed by rights lawyer John Burris against the City of Salinas June 15, 2015
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