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Lawsuit Filed Over Inglewood Police Beating of Teenager

Aired July 10, 2002 - 14:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: About an hour from now, we expect to hear from lawyers for this young man. You've no doubt seen his forceful arrest by Inglewood, California police. This arrest, as you see, was caught on tape. Now, it's sparked a lot of outrage. It's prompted a number of investigations and is now launching a lawsuit. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us with all the details from L.A. -- Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. You're right. Attorneys for Donovan Chavis will file a lawsuit in federal court today. They're expected to do in about an hour. In about an hour, they will announce the details of that lawsuit. But it will certainly say that Inglewood police violated the teenager's civil rights.

Now, the FBI has launched an investigation of its own at the request of the justice department. Officer Jeremy Morse, a three-year veteran of the force, was placed on paid administrative leave. The mayor says that Morse should be fired and that he should face criminal charges. Now, a second Inglewood resident, 32-year-old Neilson Williams has come forward. He alleges that Inglewood police beat him up two weeks before the Chavis incident. He says that it happened when he was walking home from a community gathering at a local park.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEILSON WILLIAMS, ALLEGED BEATING VICTIM: I was pretty much encountered by a fleet of Inglewood police officers who pretty much had no respect for me, anything I was trying to tell them. And they just basically beat me to a pulp and almost beat me to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: Inglewood police have released a statement regarding this incident. They said that Williams was drunk and belligerent, that he appeared to be under the influence of some type of drug or alcohol and that he staggered as he walked. They said that he was very uncooperative and that he resisted and he began to fight with the officers. They say that he was put in some kind of a neck hold and handcuffed, and it was then that the officers realized that Williams was breathing, but not conscious.

Now, Neilson Williams has also filed a complaint with the Inglewood Police Department alleging excessive use of force. Attorneys again, Kyra, for Donovan Chavis, the 16-year-old, will hold a news conference in about an hour to announce their lawsuit. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Thelma, what's the latest with the FBI investigation? We talked about that last night here on CNN.

GUTIERREZ: Well, you know, actually what had happened, Kyra, is that the justice department had asked the local office of the FBI to look into this matter. We have not come upon any details as to where they're going. They're staying very tight-lipped, and so are the local authorities about where this investigation is heading. They say they have many witnesses to talk to.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thelma Gutierrez -- thanks, Thelma.

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