A Hawaii man who was beaten by a cop on a beach for chanting next to a seal he believed to be injured filed a lawsuit last week.
The incident, which took place in 2014, was captured on video by witnesses who called the cops on the man, thinking he was harassing the seal.
But the man, Jamie Kalani Rice, said he was only trying to help the seal by sharing his mana or energy.
The video shows a Honolulu police officer named Ming Wang approaching Rice, exchanging some words and pulling out a baton to begin swinging it.
The two men continue to talk and eventually Rice stands up and begins walking away with the cop following.
The two walk off into the distance with the witness continuing to record. They appear to be talking but it is not possible to hear what they are saying.
At one point, the cop runs in front of Rice and pepper sprays him. He then begins to beat him with the baton until Rice falls down.
And once Rice is down, Wang kicks him. The video then ends.
According to Courthouse News:
He claims the defendants, “and each of them, took steps to write reports that altered the events as they actually took place so as to justify Wang use force [sic] against the plaintiff to effectuate his arrest.”
Rice was treated for broken bones in his right hand. He says the beating was unjustified because “he at no time posted a threat, resisted or struck Wang.”
Prosecutors initially declined to press charges against Wang, but chief prosecutor Keith Keneshiro disagreed and ordered his staff to re-examine the case, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Rice made a deal for time served and pleaded no-contest to obstructing a government operation, a misdemeanor, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported. Prosecutors declined to charge him with resisting arrest.
Honolulu police said it investigated Wang, but cannot release the results of that investigation because of confidentiality reasons. However, he remains on the force in a different part of the city.
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