One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
More Trouble for Fullerton Police: Man Sues Over Alleged Wrongful Arrest
Fullerton residents outraged during Tuesday night's City Council meeting. Screengrab from CBS LA footage.
Things just continue to get worse for the Fullerton Police Department. Six officers are currently being investigated in the high-profile beating of Kelly Thomas by Fullerton police officers, the injuries from which ultimately resulted in his death, and now several other officers are being accused of arresting an innocent man, jailing him and then falsely charging him with crimes, reports My FOX LA. The whole thing began when Veth Mam began recording the arrest of his friend on a cell phone last year. Police alleged that Mam then jumped on an officer's back and choked him -- but the video shown in court, all recorded on Mam's phone, showed that no such thing happened.
According to L.A. Now, the video showed Mam's friend being arrested, and then the phone getting knocked out of Mam's hands by a police officer. Mam could then be seen getting pushed on the ground and arrested, which was caught on tape because a bystander grabbed the phone and kept recording.
Following the judge finding Mam innocent, one of the police officers alleged that someone did jump on an officers back -- it just wasn't Mam, and they wrongly believed that it was.
According to FOX, Mam now plans to sue the individual officers and the department.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
