UMSL Police Completely Change Official Story

In the latest, highly-edited story from KMOX, the UMSL spokesperson dramtically upped the ante on this discussion:

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.

Massey was subdued and Samples says one officer was injured. Massey says he was kicked and punched.

During the three and a half weeks since the incident occurred, and despite being quoted in two stories by the student newspaper, the police had never before claimed that Massey tried to "strike" an officer, nor that an officer had been injured. Yet now with a student movement and petition starting to gain steam, all of a sudden the police are claiming that Massey tried to "strike" them.

What looks even worse for the police and their administrative defenders is the fact that the official letter sent from UMSL to Massey on November 29 detailing his alleged misconduct also did not mention anything about him trying to strike an officer or an officer being injured. I've uploaded a copy, with Brian's permission, of the letter they sent him:

umsl_letter2

Here is the text of the letter detailing Massey's alleged misconduct:

On or about November 17, 2010, campus police responded to a call regarding a student in crises at the Millennium Student Center. During this time, you were located directly outside the location the student was being assessed by campus police. Upon learning that you and the student had a heated argument just hours before, the police asked you to leave the area to which you refused. The police then asked you for identification, you initially refused this request before finally showing your identification. 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. This misconduct is in violation of Section 200.010.B.10 "Failure to comply with directions of the University Officials acting in the performance of their duties," and Section 200.010.B.9 "Disruptive or disorderly conduct or lewd, indecent, or obscene conduct or expression."

No mention whatsoever of Massey "attempting to strike" an officer in the official letter detailing his alleged misconduct. Think about that. It's also interesting that this letter claimed that Massey attempted to grab an officer's arm, whereas the official police story is that he did grab the officer's arm. It's also interesting that this account claims that Massey refused to show his identification, because in a previous story the UMSL Police Chief Van Ness said that Massey complied with requests to see his ID.

Not Bad: Mainstream Media Reports on UMSL Beating Only 5 Days After Activist Hub

On Monday, I reported on Brian Massey, a student badly beaten by UMSL police in November. Today, five days later, KMOX is reporting on the story:

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.

Naturally, KMOX doesn't provide any acknowledgment of this blog, of the St. Louis American (which wrote about the story on Friday), or of the UMSL Current, the newspaper that really broke the story. But whatever: I'm just glad the story is finally getting out, and KMOX does do a nice job digging into the details.