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The Town of Atherton denied a claim by a Menlo-Atherton High School student alleging he suffered substantial injuries after being pinned to the ground by Atherton police at a bus stop in April.
The town rejected the teen’s claim during a special meeting on Aug. 10, according to Atherton Police Cmdr. Dan Larsen.
Larsen said the Atherton Police Department has no new comments to make at this time.
Atherton Police Department officers were filmed pinning down and arresting the student at a bus stop across from the high school on April 28. Videos taken by bystanders have since gone viral on social media, racking up thousands of views.
Atherton police previously told this news organization that officers were dispatched to the high school after the student reportedly pushed a school administrator against a wall and yelled homophobic slurs at him.
In the claim, filed on June 28 by the student’s attorneys John Burris and Christopher Dean, the incident is described from the teen’s perspective.
According to the claim, in the week leading up to the arrest incident, students at Menlo-Atherton High School were playing a game using pool noodle-like water guns, which were confiscated by school administrators. The student, referred to in the claim as K.C., was waiting at a bus stop with friends when he learned that his peers had their water guns returned to them.
K.C. went to the school’s office to retrieve his water gun, but according to the claim, Vice Principal Stephen Emmi instructed staff not to give it to him.
“When minor K.C. tried to retrieve his property, vice principal Emmi physically blocked him, causing minor K.C. to bump into him,” the claim alleges. “Frustrated that he was not allowed to have his water ‘gun’ even though his friends had been given theirs, minor K.C., who suffers from a mental impairment, became emotionally distressed and shouted at Vice Principal Emmi.”
The student left the office and headed back to the bus stop, according to the claim, and at some point, Emmi called the police.
“Due to his mental impairment, minor K.C. has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), under which school staff are directed to contact on-site counselors to de-escalate and check on minor K.C. whenever he has an emotional disturbance episode,” the claim states. “School staff are not supposed to contact the police in response to an episode.”
K.C. was still waiting for the bus with two friends when Atherton police officers approached them, the claim says. A police officer allegedly told K.C.’s friends to leave, but the student asked them to stay out of fear. An officer then handcuffed one of the friends while other officers grabbed K.C.’s shoulder, the claim says.
“This scared minor K.C. since he does not like to be touched, so he stated, ‘Please don’t touch me’ while putting his hands up and backing away,” according to the claim. “The officer then slammed minor K.C. onto the ground.”
The student recently had hernia surgery, so this caused him extreme pain, according to the claim.
“He began to cry and beg the officer to stop, telling him that he was hurting him,” the claim states.
The officers then lifted the student up and dragged him to a police car, according to the claim, which caused him more physical pain. K.C. asked officers why they were arresting him, the claim says, but the officers didn’t answer. The minor was taken to the police station and picked up by his grandmother 15 minutes later.
The claim alleges that the Atherton Police Department officers’ assault, battery and negligence caused the student to sustain substantial injuries, including significant stomach pain, back pain and abrasions.
“Minor K.C. did not pose a threat of serious injury or harm to any of the officers in this incident,” the claim states. “The Atherton Police Department officers’ actions were unreasonable, unlawful and unnecessary.”
Atherton police said in a May 3 news bulletin, released a few days after the initial incident, that the student “physically assaulted a school administrator by pushing them into a cubicle wall, tried to push the administrator’s glasses off their face, spit on them, and called them derogatory homophobic slurs.”
Atherton Police Cmdr. Larsen told this news organization in an email at the time that the minor “walked away from police and resisted” before he was arrested.
“Charges are being filed against the subject for battery on a school official and a hate crime,” Larsen said at the time. “What was captured on video is the tail end of the incident.”
Credit: M-A Chronicle via Mahki Tippins, Linda Gabele, Louise Gabele, one anonymous student and the sibling of the student pinned down.
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