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Southwestern investigates campus police after black student was handcuffed, cited for parking infraction

Southwestern College student Tara Roché-Washington was one of multiple students at a college town hall on Oct. 3, 2019 who expressed concerns about police discrimination toward African-Americans, two days after a black student was handcuffed by campus police officers related to a suspected parking infraction.
(Kristen Taketa / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

‘This hurts. It hurts everybody,’ the Southwestern College superintendent/president said

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A video of Southwestern College police officers handcuffing and detaining a black male student — at one point taking him to the ground — after a suspected parking infraction earlier this week has fueled student concerns about police discrimination against people of color.

The video, shot by another student and posted on Twitter, shows the student cursing and yelling while handcuffed on the Chula Vista community college campus, and asking what he had done to be arrested.

“I’m literally walking to my car and you’re (expletive) arresting me, bro?” the student yells at the officers surrounding him in the Tuesday incident.

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The student asks people around him to record the confrontation.

The incident happened next to the open driver’s side door of a blue SUV, parked in a spot designated for disabled parking. The video shows a disabled-parking placard hanging from SUV’s rear-view mirror.

At one point, as the student loudly questions the arrest, the officers take him to the ground. One bystander can be heard gasping and saying, “Why?”

The student is lifted up and officers try to get him into the backseat of a police SUV. The video, which runs 2 minutes and 14 seconds, ends there.

The video posting includes the message: “3 cop cars for one handicap placard ??????”

Southwestern authorities said the student, whose name was not released, had been cited for misuse of a disabled parking placard and obstruction of justice.

The college has hired an external investigator, Nicole Miller, to look into whether police followed proper procedures and policies, said Southwestern Superintendent/President Kindred Murillo at a campus “listening session” about the incident on Thursday.

Roughly 80 people attended the session, including Murillo and Southwestern’s Police Chief Dave Nighswonger, who was not involved in the Tuesday incident.

The investigation may take up to about two months, according to Murillo. The college will hold a town hall once the investigation is finished.

“It will be a fair and just investigation,” Murillo said.

Student Lizette Moran said at Thursday’s event that she was the one who recorded the Twitter video. She started recording because the incident “didn’t feel right,” she said.

She said she doesn’t think an incident about a disabled-parking placard should have escalated the way it did.

“What happened, it was not okay,” Moran said.

The student who was handcuffed also spoke at Thursday’s event but did not give his full name. He said the incident has scarred him, and he recently had knee surgery.

“I just think justice needs to be served,” he said.

Several students at the event suggested that the incident was an example of a larger pattern of police discrimination against people of color, especially black men. Students shared emotional stories of how they have felt targeted because of their skin color.

“We deserve to be treated and respected as human beings,” said student Tara Roché-Washington, who is black.

“You should not have had to experience that, no way, no how,” she added, referring to the student who was handcuffed. “We’re talking about black lives now.”

Nighswonger, who answered questions at Thursday’s event, said it is important for his department to receive feedback.

“Our goal is not to create fear or discontent. We’re here to provide a service,” he said.

Nighswonger and other campus officials would not answer students’ questions about the details of the incident because the investigation is ongoing.

Murillo told the audience that she was “so sad” that the incident happened.

“This hurts. It hurts everybody,” Murillo said.

She said the college cares very much about its black students and that the college’s goal is to make an environment that is safe for everyone.

“We are going to do everything we can to protect the rights of our students,” Murillo said.

The college’s Black Student Union said Thursday that it will hold a future meeting to educate students about their rights when it comes to dealing with police.

Since Murillo became the college president two and a half years ago, she has worked to address a history at the college of racial tensions and allegations of anti-black racism among employees and students.

Recently, Southwestern was investigating alleged racial incidents related to the annual student government election, which Murillo canceled.

Ayona Hudson and Christian Sanchez, the two candidates who were competing for the student government president position, said at Thursday’s event that they are now co-presidents.

Updates

6:09 p.m. Oct. 3, 2019: This story has been updated with information from the campus listening session about the incident.

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