Post by WaTcHeR on Apr 18, 2006 12:56:41 GMT -5
04/18/2006 - Even though the hit-and-run case against a Davis teenager has been dropped, her family says they are going to file a civil suit against the Davis Police Department on allegations of ethnic bias.
In June 2005, a witness reported to police seeing an SUV hit a parked car and drive off. A Davis police officer investigating the report believed then 16-year-old Halema Buzayan was driving. The family said it was the mother.
Six days later the officer came to the Buzayan home, took Halema Buzayan, who was in her pajamas, from her home and arrested her for misdemeanor hit-and-run.
The Buzayans paid $870 for the vehicle damage shortly after the incident. In one court hearing the victim of the parking lot fender-bender testified on Halema Buzayan's behalf. On Monday, 10 months after the incident, a Yolo County Superior Court judge dismissed the case.
The Buzayans believe they were investigated and prosecuted differently because they are Muslim. They have the support of community activists who last week petitioned the Davis City Council to create an oversight commission for the police department. "When the community showed up they really provided a comfort that kind of made up for the discomfort caused by the police department," said Halema Buzayan. "So it meant so much to me and it was such a wonderful feeling."
The council has yet to respond to the commission proposal but earlier this year established a citizen's advisory panel to meet with the Davis police chief monthly.
The Buzayans say they will file a civil complaint against the Davis Police Department for abuse of process. They said they may also seek to charge the Yolo County District Attorney with malicious prosecution, violations of the Fourth Amendment and the California Constitution.
The district attorney's office did not answer questions about the Buzayan case. The police department has told The Davis Enterprise it handled the Buzayan case no differently than other juvenile hit-and-run arrests it made last year.
In June 2005, a witness reported to police seeing an SUV hit a parked car and drive off. A Davis police officer investigating the report believed then 16-year-old Halema Buzayan was driving. The family said it was the mother.
Six days later the officer came to the Buzayan home, took Halema Buzayan, who was in her pajamas, from her home and arrested her for misdemeanor hit-and-run.
The Buzayans paid $870 for the vehicle damage shortly after the incident. In one court hearing the victim of the parking lot fender-bender testified on Halema Buzayan's behalf. On Monday, 10 months after the incident, a Yolo County Superior Court judge dismissed the case.
The Buzayans believe they were investigated and prosecuted differently because they are Muslim. They have the support of community activists who last week petitioned the Davis City Council to create an oversight commission for the police department. "When the community showed up they really provided a comfort that kind of made up for the discomfort caused by the police department," said Halema Buzayan. "So it meant so much to me and it was such a wonderful feeling."
The council has yet to respond to the commission proposal but earlier this year established a citizen's advisory panel to meet with the Davis police chief monthly.
The Buzayans say they will file a civil complaint against the Davis Police Department for abuse of process. They said they may also seek to charge the Yolo County District Attorney with malicious prosecution, violations of the Fourth Amendment and the California Constitution.
The district attorney's office did not answer questions about the Buzayan case. The police department has told The Davis Enterprise it handled the Buzayan case no differently than other juvenile hit-and-run arrests it made last year.