Spring Break
Students protest suspected police brutality
Angela Marino
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: News
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About 50 students gathered in front of San Jose City Hall on Tuesday to protest against suspected police misconduct against San Jose residents.
Steven Do, a community service chair for the Vietnamese Student Association at SJSU, said the association wanted to show its support for police brutality as a national issue.
"We came out today to support Phung Ho, the SJSU international student who was Tased by San Jose police, but also to show how serious this issue is outside of the Vietnamese community," Do said. "It happens everywhere."
Ho was beaten with a baton and was shocked with a Taser gun by four San Jose police officers, according to the Oct. 28 edition of the Spartan Daily.
Police reports described Ho as violently kicking and refusing orders, but Ho's roommate captured the arrest on video, according to the Oct. 28 edition of the Spartan Daily.
The videotape revealed 14 baton strikes and the use of a Taser gun, with no violent kicking from Ho, according to the Oct. 28 edition of the Spartan Daily.
The Vietnamese Student Association is a nonprofit organization that was founded to encourage students to be involved in the Vietnamese community, according to the Vietnamese Student Association Web site.
Across the nation, between April 2009 and September 2009, there have been 2,658 victims of suspected police misconduct, according to the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center Web site.
During the past six months, 215 fatalities were reported nationwide, with reports of suspected misconduct, according to the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center Web site.
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center is a organization that is committed to distributing media to promote social and economic justice.
Sophomore pre-nursing major Jenny Nguyen said she came to the protest because police misconduct shouldn't happen in this county.
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