Samples Says Student Is Totally Guilty, But Don't Worry Because They're Conducting a Honest Review

KSDK reported today on the beating of UMSL student Brian Massey by campus police. What I found remarkable in the story is that Bob Samples, university spokesperson, states quite flatly that Massey is guilty despite the fact that multiple witnesses have come forth saying that Massey was attacked by the officers. At no point in this entire process has Samples given any indication that he is taking the student's testimony seriously. At no point has he explained what evidence convinced him that the police account was 100% accurate and that seven different UMSL students were lying about the incident. At no point has he produced a single witness that has said that Massey resisted arrest.

Yet in the news report, it is stated that the university is investigating if the officers "went too far" and could have a report back within two weeks. Call me crazy, but shouldn't Samples be waiting for that report before declaring that Massey is guilty? Might he actually want to put a call out for witnesses? Maybe even talk to someone other than the police officers? If we had anything other than a lapdog mainstream press in this town, Samples would at least be required to answer the questions. Who knows? Maybe he has good answers. But we'll never know from watching Channel 5.

Timeline of Bob Samples' Evolving Claims

Brian Massey, a student at UMSL, was beaten by campus police officers on November 17. He was then charged with assault and "resisting arrest," even though numerous witnesses have said that he did not initiate contact or resist the police officers.

On November 29, in the Current (the UMSL Student Newspaper)University Spokesperson Bob Samples claimed only that Massey grabbed the police officer's arm:

“During the response, the lead officer observed an individual whose presence elevated the anxiety of the student in crisis. Building and radio station officials asked the individual to leave the area. When he refused, two officers were asked to intercede,” Samples said. “The individual was not cooperative. In the process of determining identification, the individual in question grabbed the arm of an officer. The officer advised the individual that he was under arrest for assault.”

On November 29, the official letter to Brian Massey detailing his "misconduct" said that Massey had "attempted" to grab an officer's arm and had "jerked and pulled back":

As the officer attempted to read your identification card, you attempted to grab hold of the officer's wrist and take the identification card out of his hand. The officer then attempted to arrest you for the incident. Multiple witnesses observed you resisting arrest by jerking, pulling back, and shouting at the officers.

On Dec. 11, after talking KMOX into editing out witness testimony from their story, Samples claimed that Massey "tried to strike an officer:"

Samples says Massey grabbed the right wrist of an officer and was told he was under arrest.

Police say, as Massey was being handcuffed, he swung around and tried to strike an officer.

And now, on December 15, Samples tells KSDK that Massey "stepped on the foot of an officer, injuring that officer."

Funny how he forgot to mention all of this stuff until this last week, isn't it?

What KMOX Left Out

I wrote earlier that KMOX had edited their story to leave out all accounts from people who witnessed the police beating UMSL student Brian Massey. The story went from one with a group of witnesses disagreeing with police, to a story relying completely on the police account of the incident. Well, Google Cache appears to finally be working so I'm posting below all of the information that KMOX edited out after they spoke with an UMSL spokesperson. Here are the passages removed from the old story by Jusin Wingerter that are completely missing from the new story;

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – A November 17 altercation between University of Missouri – St. Louis police and a 46-year-old student has some calling for the police officers’ termination.

Witnesses say a disagreement between Brian K. Massey, a disc jockey at the campus radio station, and another radio station volunteer led police to the Millennium Center around 5 p.m.

“They had actually called the building police on her,” Massey said, referring to the 35-year-old volunteer he had a disagreement with. “The reason campus police were called wasn’t for me, it was for her.”

Massey and witnesses tell KMOX that police asked him for two forms of identification which he promptly handed over without complaint. Police then informed the criminal justice student that he was under arrest for trespassing after refusing to leave the building.

And:

Massey and witnesses say he was grabbed by police, handcuffed, and then thrown against a concrete column without provocation. UMSL spokesman Bob Samples, meanwhile, says Massey grabbed the wrist of one of the officers and resisted arrest.

“I used my foot to stop my face from hitting the column,” Massey said. “They then threw me against the window of the radio station.”

Witnesses say that’s when the crowd, which had gathered as classes let out, became heated.

Massey, who suffers from diabetic neuropathy and says he’s listed as a disabled student by the university, said that police then began punching him and kicking him in the sides. Police agree that they were forced to “apply striking blows to soft tissue areas.”

Witnesses say Massey displayed “amazing calmness” as he was struck, eventually going down on one knee in hopes of avoiding further confrontation. But, he says, that only made him an easier target.

“They then hit me in the side, hit me in the legs again, pushed my head into the wall, and start hitting me in the head.”

It was only when a campus employee stepped between the officers and Massey did the beating come to an end, according to witnesses.

Massey says further improper treatment followed, including having his leg slammed in the police car’s door. He was charged with three misdemeanors – resisting arrest, assault, and trespassing - along with one felony count of assault of a police officer while undergoing treatment for his injuries.

“I spent the next three days handcuffed, and then - when St. Louis County came in - shackled to a hospital bed,” Massey said. “I was never even given a phone call.”

Massey was also suspended from the UMSL campus after being released on bond and told to leave his UMSL-owned apartment during which time he visited family in Chicago before being told he could return.

He says he’s since been hounded by police and lives in a state of fear and paranoia.

Massey also alleges that members of the UMSL administration have pressured him into not appealing the allegations against him and instead suggested that he remain quiet. But, he says, as a criminal justice major, he has been taught that keeping quiet simply isn’t right.

As for what he wants from UMSL police and administrative staff, Massey says he just wants to be exonerated.

“I need my named cleared,” Massey said. “These trumped up charges against me are exactly that.”

Meanwhile, some of Massey’s fellow students are calling for more than just exoneration.

“Ultimately, we want these officers removed from campus,” one student said.

And:

Massey has said he will support the sit-in and similar protests as long as they remain peaceful.

“If they’re going to go out on a limb for me, the least I can do is be there to support them supporting me,” Massey said.

And:

Organizers say Massey has shown incredible resilience throughout the ordeal and that they hope to forward his positive, peaceful way of thinking. Many people have suggested the attack on the African-American Massey by white officers was racially motivated but Massey disagrees.

“No, I don’t think race played a role in it,” Massey said.

The editor I spoke to said that he "balanced" the story after speaking with an UMSL official. However, if you look at the new story, you'll see that it only tells the UMSL police account of the incident. It is, in fact, far less balanced than the original story.

(I realize that I quoted a lot of text from the previous article. However, that article is no longer published on the KMOX site and I am quoting the text as part of "fair use," because ultimately I am reporting on the changes made by KMOX)