Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Weightlifter as security guard no bueno

Chaparral High School student bloodied by campus cop

Three Chaparral High School employees have been granted immunity from a lawsuit relating to a 2013 incident that left a 15-year-old female student injured after she was allegedly thrown to the ground face-first while handcuffed by a campus police officer, according to a report from Courthouse News Service.

On March 2, 2013, student "Tasia" was escorted to assistant principal Jenee Littrell's office after a drug-sniffing dog had been deployed on the campus (her complaint does not specify whether or not the dog had alerted a presence of drugs on her person or in her possessions).

Sponsored
Sponsored

The plaintiff says that while Littrell was absent from the room, she attempted to use the office's phone to contact her mother. When Littrell returned with campus officer Leroy Jason Becker, provided to the district by the El Cajon Police Department, she demanded that the student hang up the phone and denied her request to contact family.

During a verbal altercation, Tasia refused a demand from Becker to sit down, at which point she was handcuffed behind her back, led by Becker to a different office, and forcibly placed into a chair.

The student continued to argue with the officer, and she claims that at this point Becker pulled her from the chair and slammed her face-first to the ground. According to the suit, Becker outweighed the girl by 100 pounds or more and his “Facebook page boasts of his weight-lifting prowess."

Tasia says she immediately began screaming in pain, and while Becker remained above, pushing her into the ground Littrell, principal Randy Reid, and school employee Pat Keely were aware of the situation but did nothing to aid her.

A nurse eventually responded to Tasia's cries and quickly ascertained that she was in need of immediate medical attention, summoning an ambulance. Becker then placed a white hood over her bloodied face.

Tasia eventually ended up at a local hospital, suffering from "a swollen and bloodied face, rug burns on her arms, and a broken clavicle bone."

Meanwhile, the student's parents received a call from Becker, notifying them only that their daughter had "gotten into trouble" and that the school was "sending her for a medical evaluation." He did not disclose the extent of her injuries or notify them that she would require hospitalization. Becker also allegedly refused to remove Tasia's handcuffs during the ambulance ride to the hospital, despite the nature of her injuries effectively subduing her and the handcuffed position exacerbating the pain from the collarbone fracture.

Tasia and her mother argue that defendants Becker and the City of El Cajon that employs him are guilty of excessive force and that the Grossmont Union High School District and the three named employees were liable under California's Bane Act for not taking steps to prevent Becker from using said force.

U.S. District Court judge William Hayes, however, ruled this week that the district and its employees should be granted immunity from the suit, as the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents citizens of a state from suing any entity of the state in federal court. Unless Tasia and her mother amend their complaint, it appears at this point the suit will continue with only Becker and El Cajon as defendants.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yo-Yo Ma, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky come to San Diego

Next Article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate

Three Chaparral High School employees have been granted immunity from a lawsuit relating to a 2013 incident that left a 15-year-old female student injured after she was allegedly thrown to the ground face-first while handcuffed by a campus police officer, according to a report from Courthouse News Service.

On March 2, 2013, student "Tasia" was escorted to assistant principal Jenee Littrell's office after a drug-sniffing dog had been deployed on the campus (her complaint does not specify whether or not the dog had alerted a presence of drugs on her person or in her possessions).

Sponsored
Sponsored

The plaintiff says that while Littrell was absent from the room, she attempted to use the office's phone to contact her mother. When Littrell returned with campus officer Leroy Jason Becker, provided to the district by the El Cajon Police Department, she demanded that the student hang up the phone and denied her request to contact family.

During a verbal altercation, Tasia refused a demand from Becker to sit down, at which point she was handcuffed behind her back, led by Becker to a different office, and forcibly placed into a chair.

The student continued to argue with the officer, and she claims that at this point Becker pulled her from the chair and slammed her face-first to the ground. According to the suit, Becker outweighed the girl by 100 pounds or more and his “Facebook page boasts of his weight-lifting prowess."

Tasia says she immediately began screaming in pain, and while Becker remained above, pushing her into the ground Littrell, principal Randy Reid, and school employee Pat Keely were aware of the situation but did nothing to aid her.

A nurse eventually responded to Tasia's cries and quickly ascertained that she was in need of immediate medical attention, summoning an ambulance. Becker then placed a white hood over her bloodied face.

Tasia eventually ended up at a local hospital, suffering from "a swollen and bloodied face, rug burns on her arms, and a broken clavicle bone."

Meanwhile, the student's parents received a call from Becker, notifying them only that their daughter had "gotten into trouble" and that the school was "sending her for a medical evaluation." He did not disclose the extent of her injuries or notify them that she would require hospitalization. Becker also allegedly refused to remove Tasia's handcuffs during the ambulance ride to the hospital, despite the nature of her injuries effectively subduing her and the handcuffed position exacerbating the pain from the collarbone fracture.

Tasia and her mother argue that defendants Becker and the City of El Cajon that employs him are guilty of excessive force and that the Grossmont Union High School District and the three named employees were liable under California's Bane Act for not taking steps to prevent Becker from using said force.

U.S. District Court judge William Hayes, however, ruled this week that the district and its employees should be granted immunity from the suit, as the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents citizens of a state from suing any entity of the state in federal court. Unless Tasia and her mother amend their complaint, it appears at this point the suit will continue with only Becker and El Cajon as defendants.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.