XPost: alt.politics.liberalism, soc.culture.kenya, alt.politics.   
   ationalism.white   
   XPost: alt.war.civil.usa   
   From: pt@mlk.za   
      
   A high school teacher and activist want to sue the city of   
   Seattle, claiming police officers unlawfully pepper sprayed him   
   as he left a peaceful rally on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.   
      
   Jesse Hagopian, a history teacher at Garfield High School, spoke   
   during an MLK rally in Seattle and says he was on the phone   
   while leaving the Jan. 19 event. As Hagopian, a father of two,   
   was walking to meet family, he says he was pepper sprayed by a   
   Seattle police officer.   
      
   The incident was captured on video and uploaded to YouTube on   
   Wednesday, the same day Hagopian's attorney filed a claim   
   against the city. A claim is a first step that can lead to a   
   lawsuit against a public agency.   
      
   "I felt the piercing pain shoot through my eye, my ear drum and   
   my nostril, all over my cheek and face," Hagopian said,   
   recalling the incident. "I yelled out. My mom was in distress as   
   she heard me yell."   
      
   Seattle Police spokesman Patrick Michaud said he hadn't seen the   
   video as of Wednesday afternoon and couldn't comment. Michaud   
   said the video was not taken by SPD staff.   
      
   "(Jesse) was pepper sprayed irrationally by a police officer -   
   no provocation and no reason," said Hagopian's attorney, James   
   Bible. "We view this as a challenge to free speech."   
      
   Bible, who is president of the local chapter of the NAACP,   
   joined other community advocates in the lobby of city hall   
   Monday. Many say the police have been heavy-handed at recent   
   rallies, despite being under federal orders to improve training,   
   supervision, and accountability.   
      
   "We have worked to create and implement a comprehensive and   
   transparent police accountability system that will be the most   
   robust in the nation," said Mayor Ed Murray, in an emailed   
   statement. "Under the accountability system that we've set up,   
   the uses of force that occurred during the MLK protests are   
   currently under review and being investigated."   
      
   "Any justice for Jesse I hope will amount for justice for every   
   single person who has exercised their First Amendment right to   
   remind this country that black lives matter," added Nikkita   
   Oliver, a community activist. "We are watching you and no longer   
   accept the attack on black and brown peoples."   
      
   Bible's office released the 15-second clip of the incident   
   Wednesday and was working to make a longer segment available to   
   the public.   
      
   "The pain that shot through my face only lasted so long,"   
   Hagopian added, "but the painful memory is something that I   
   don't know when will leave me or my family."   
      
   http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Seattle-teacher-   
   activist-files-claim-against-city-6048395.php   
                         
      
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