Student accuses police

Police have launched an investigation into accusations of brutality against the Long Beach Police Department, officials said Monday.

Kathy Clark, a senior business major, told the Associated Students Senate Wednesday that she and four other female students were "brutally attacked" by Long Beach Police officers on Oct. 27 after an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority dance in the University Stud ent Union.

"I was forced onto the ground with a billy club," she said. "What happened to me Friday night was the most horrible experience of my life."

Long Beach Police officers were called in Oct. 27 by University Police to help remove several unruly "party crashers" from the dance.

What arrived, according to Clark, were several officers in full riot gear.

Long Beach Police Corporal Joe Levy said that 38 officers responded that night to a call for assistance by University Police. Some were dressed in riot gear because they came from an earlier "tension" at Jordan High School.

The complaint is being investigated, Levy said, but he could not comment on the investigation.

Levy said Long Beach Police are rarely called to Cal State Long Beach. "We're not called unless the Cal State police feel it's a situation they can't handle," he said.

Such a situation occurred on Oct. 27, according to University Police Chief Jack Pearson.

"Individuals had pulled up stakes and were using them as clubs against officers," he said.

Pearson said that one complaint had been filed against University Police saying it should have been "more aggressive."

As tears streamed down her face, Clark described at the meeting how she and her friends, wearing "heels and dresses," were about to get into their car when they were confronted by officers.

"We were chased like slaves," she said, "by 25 white officers."

With Clark that night were Senior Hawanya Keels, a psychology major, Sophomore Tameka Davis, a liberal studies major, and two Cal State University students from Northern California, she said.

Clark said that she did not want to make a racial issue of the alleged attack. "This didn't just happen to black [men and women], it happened to Long Beach State students."

Clark said that she had filed complaints with the Long Beach Police Department and that she hoped that the A.S. Senate would investigate. "I think nothing is going to be done about it," she said.

Sen.-at-large Ian Coleman responded quickly. "It's important that this is an issue we don't shy away from," he said. "It's important that people know about it."