Ronald Weekley Jr., the young skateboarder who was assaulted by LAPD officers in broad daylight, has hired Benjamin Crump, the attorney who represents the family of Trayvon Martin.
STORY: Police Brutality! Ron Weekley Jr. Beat Up By The LAPD
Weekley was arrested on Saturday afternoon with the accompanying beating captured on cell phone video by a witness. The clip shows four officers on top of the 20-year-old while he was face down on a lawn. One of the officers appeared to punch Weekley in the face during the struggle.
According to CBS News, Benjamin Crump was quoted during a news conference at Westminster Baptist Church in Venice, CA:
“You see on that video there were several people who witnessed what happened…Nobody said that Ronald Weekley Jr. did anything to attack the police.”
As reported by CBS News:
Crump questioned why police stopped Weekley in the first place.
“Was he stopped because he was on the wrong side of the road, or was he attacked because he was the wrong color?” Crump asked.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers saw Weekley at 6:25 p.m. Saturday skateboarding in traffic on Sunset Avenue in Venice, near Sixth Street, a violation of the vehicle code.
“Officers tried to stop and detain him, and there was a use of force,” LAPD spokesman Richard French said. “The suspect was arrested and booked for obstructing/resisting a police officer with force. Officers later found out that he had three outstanding warrants.”
French said the department was investigating allegations of excessive use of force, saying the arrest “will be thoroughly investigated and reviewed at all levels of the department.” He said the department was aware of the video of the arrest.
Weekley, who was released from jail Monday, says he suffered a broken nose, fractured cheekbone and concussion in the arrest. He denied that he was resisting arrest or made any effort to reach for an officer’s weapon.
Weekley is in good hands with Ben Crump, his exemplary work during the Trayvon case has become national news.
SOURCE: CBS News
