Topic: Violent Arrest of student at Univ.of Western Ontario sparks uproar on youtube

[S.M.A.]

I wasn't sure if the youtube video violated the site guidelines since it is reportedly graphic/violent, so I removed the youtube link from the article: (It is probably easy to find on youtube)

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091015/national/university_violent_arrest

LONDON, Ont. - Officials at the University of Western Ontario in this southwestern Ontario city are defending the violent arrest of a student captured on a video circulating on YouTube.

The video shows the student being held down in a campus building on Wednesday and pummelled by at least five campus and city police officers. Officers are seen kneeing the student aggressively in the torso, beating him on the back with batons and punching him hard up to a dozen times.


At least one officer is heard yelling "Stop resisting," and then, "Give us your arm."


Elgin Austen, the head of campus police, told a news conference Thursday that by the time he arrived during the arrest, he didn't see "anything out of order" with the level of force being applied.


"It was being conducted consistent with the Ontario Police College and the training that officers have there."


He added that people seeing just the video alone "may not understand what the officers were actually doing."


"What the officers were doing was trying to apprehend a strong individual ... and not injure that person and keep other people around safe."


Austen said the incident began on the seventh and eighth floors of the social sciences building, well before the video was shot.


He said the suspect "was creating safety concerns" on the upper floors and had barricaded himself inside a room.


"Eventually, everything came down to the main floor," where efforts were made to subdue a "disoriented individual."


The student, described as about 6 foot 2 inches and more than 200 pounds, was taken to hospital for observation, then released into custody.


Charged with mischief under $5,000, assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest and escaping lawful custody is Irnes Zeljkovic, of London.


University spokeswoman Gitta Kulczycki added that the incident needs to be kept in context. The main concern of police was protecting students and faculty, she said.


"The view of the video itself is somewhat disturbing without knowing the context of the full situation," she said.


"In terms of what were the officers trying to do - let's recognize what was occurring."


Kulczycki said an automatic review is conducted in situations like these.


"We will certainly co-operate fully with London police as that occurs," she said.

The video can be viewed at:

[PMedMoe]

Wow, doesn't this sound familiar??

More info here:  http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/10/15/11412241-sun.html

The university release says the suspect then “continued to fight violently and would not allow himself to be handcuffed” and continued to fight after being handcuffed and led outside.

“The resistance continued after the individual was transported to hospital.”

Sounds like this guy just didn't know when to stop resisting.   

[benny88]

I was there. He had it coming.

[Technoviking]

Ah, my Alma Mater!  I love it when UWO makes the news.

 

[Teflon]

I hear outraged students are presently holding a "Youtube Sit-in" in protest to this case of possible police brutality. It involves a 5 min Youtube video of several concerned student activists sitting down blocking a unknown school hallway. They state that this video will continue playing in a loop until such time as the jackbooted security fascists are punished and their obvious greatness is publicly acknowledged.

As it stands now, the video has not had many hits and their have been no reports of hindered passage in any of UWO's hallways.

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I was there. He had it coming.

Good enough for me.....

[mariomike]

Good enough for me.....

Tough love. 

[medicineman]

What - no TASERS??!!

MM

[GAP]

What - no TASERS??!!

MM

No....this is retro week....just to show you what you are missing.... 

[Teflon]

A good knee to the back once in while builds character, now the wacks with the batons, well those are good for building self-esteem, at least that what I was told.

[medicineman]

Self esteem or control?  I'd say control for the receiver and esteem for the delivery person  .

I would have thought it would have been more retro to shoot him - I guess that's a bit too far back in history though...

MM

[Teflon]

medicineman

I don't know about that, my Dad always said that it hurt him more then me

[Michael O'Leary]

There a simple solution, when the cops show up:

a.     Stop what you're doing,

b.     Do what they tell you.

If you can't follow these simple steps, you're probably an idiot and may get treated like one.

[tango22a]

Michael:

Just this once I agree with you completely.


Cheers,

tango22a

[Baden Guy]

There a simple solution, when the cops show up:

a.     Stop what you're doing,

b.     Do what they tell you.

If you can't follow these simple steps, you're probably an idiot and may get treated like one.

C. Chris Rock video LINK

[Sierra Kilo]

talk about a hands-on education!  He should have just stuck to hitting the books...

In all seriousness, if this really was a mental health incident and not just the after-effects of a curious drug experimentee, I hope that at least now he gets the help he needs. 

[Tommy]

Nope.... This Clownshoe had it comming to him....

(Taken from another forum:)

and Found in the Sarnia Observer:

The Observer

Four young London men who say it was stupid to take cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy to Pinery Provincial Park were fined $300 each in Sarnia court Friday.

XXX XXXX, 19, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, XXXXX XXXXX, 22, and XXXX XXXXX, 20, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and Irnes Zeljkovic, 21, pleaded guilty to possession of ecstasy.

The group were arrested after park wardens checked a vehicle parked in an unusual spot at 1 a.m. on May 17, 2008, a holiday weekend.

One men was clutching a bag containing about one gram of cocaine.

A search of the vehicle and nearby ground produced a few grams of marijuana and 24 ecstasy tablets.

It was a joint venture and all of them should be treated equally, said federal prosecutor Michael Robb.

Defence lawyer Robert McFadden said they are all bright young men with promising careers ahead of them, but they agreed it was a weekend of stupidity.

Three are in college or university and the fourth is self-employed and expected to assume a role in the family

Apparently he didnt get the point the first time......

Good job to the Cops for bringing it under control without any serious injury.

[Eye In The Sky]

I hear outraged students are presently holding a "Youtube Sit-in" in protest to this case of possible police brutality. It involves a 5 min Youtube video of several concerned student activists sitting down blocking a unknown school hallway. They state that this video will continue playing in a loop until such time as the jackbooted security fascists are punished and their obvious greatness is publicly acknowledged.

As it stands now, the video has not had many hits and their have been no reports of hindered passage in any of UWO's hallways.

BAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA! 

Wow!  Thats the way to change things!  What a bunch of pussies we have these days!  Come on!  Attack the police, throw/break stuff or something!  A ******* youtube sit in?  A picture of these dorks should be put beside the definition of "ineffective".   

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAA!   

[Retired AF Guy]

I was there. He had it coming.

Details, if possible??

[Sierra Kilo]

Thanks for that info Tommy, that was pretty much what I was expecting to hear...  it's too bad that the mainstream media hasn't made that link, have they?

[Tommy]

Thanks for that info Tommy, that was pretty much what I was expecting to hear...  it's too bad that the mainstream media hasn't made that link, have they?

From what Ive read the MSM are painting this in a positive light... as is all the organizations involved...
its the Hippie "I hate pigs" students who are turning this into another "omigawd this is just like rodney king...." event....

stupid hippies.....

[Sierra Kilo]

I have to smile though when I think of the naiveness of some of these 'enlightened' students reacting strongly to the news. Being a former social sciences student myself (albeit student-soldier) I can see where they come from if they are suddenly witness to a violent act after so many discussions about why people do what they do - I'm sure many of them were like me and never dealt with the police while growing up, one way or the other...

[mariomike]

Update:
"Student in YouTube arrest likely to sue: His lawyer Phil Millar said Wednesday his client will probably sue the university, London police and campus police over the arrest. Zeljkovic is now in a psychiatric hospital, where he doesn't appear to be faring well, said Millar.":
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2009/11/04/uwo-violent-arrest-lawsuit368.html

[Dennis Ruhl]

Update:
"Student in YouTube arrest likely to sue: His lawyer Phil Millar said Wednesday his client will probably sue the university, London police and campus police over the arrest. Zeljkovic is now in a psychiatric hospital, where he doesn't appear to be faring well, said Millar."

That's some lawyer.  He better get his retainer up front.  I somehow don't think that there's going to anything out of the proceeds from a suit.  Now if they sent him to Syria ....... 

[Journeyman]

The student's father, Merzuk Zeljkovic, said his son has no recollection of the arrest.

No harm; no foul   

[Kyle Burrows]

The media has an omnipotent power to put whatever sort of spin they would like on any given story.  As a mainstream news source, many in the status quo will not look into deeper meaning.

If the student was indeed under the influence of a controlled or prohibited substance and chose to resist arrest because of that - then he deserves what he gets.

If all we are going on is a media opinion that clashes with some views of people that were there (and aligns with others as well) then who are we to pass judgement.  I'm not advocating either answer as the correct one - I'm saying that there often is more to the situation than we are told.

From what I've gathered, this situation was initially handled by Special Constables with the LPS coming in after.  It is possible that instead of diffusing a situation with a delusional or mentally ill individual it was escalated, simply because it was a situation that the first officers responding hadn't dealt with before. We cannot fault the officers for dealing with a perceived threat to themselves and others. But perhaps there was a better response for that particular situation.

Just trying to keep an open mind until we get more details.

[NotRambo]

expect to see a lot of  dreadlocked, bongo playing suburban white kids, saying we live in a facist state.

[Michael O'Leary]

expect to see a lot of  dreadlocked, bongo playing suburban white kids, saying we live in a facist state.

So, the same reaction they'd have to the application of ratings for violence or sexuality on video games.

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Student arrested on YouTube has charges stayed

By JANE SIMS, QMI Agency
   
LONDON, Ont. -- Four charges against a University of Western Ontario student whose violent arrest was posted to YouTube have been stayed.
The charges against Irnes Zeljkovic were stayed Wednesday when a judge agreed he should be treated under the Mental Health Act.
Zeljkovic, 22, barricaded himself in a seventh-floor office of the Social Sciences building at the University of Western Ontario on Oct. 14.

He then approached two campus police officers in what the university called a "violent manner."
Police later confronted him on the building's main floor. Several campus and city police officers wrestled with Zeljkovic, striking him at least 35 times.

A witness filmed the confrontation and posted a 90-second clip on YouTube that has drawn nearly 400,000 viewers.
In the video,Zeljkovic is commanded to "Stop resisting!" 
 
Zeljkovic was charged with mischief, resisting arrest, escaping custody and assaulting a peace officer.
A lawyer acting for Zeljkovic said academic stress may have played a role in the incident.

The university hired the former head of the OPP to review the arrest that sparked protest of police tactics.
 
 

[mariomike]

Update:
Jul. 23, 2010
Globe and Mail:
"University student sues police, school over violent arrest: Video footage of the arrest was posted on YouTube; student seeks $750,000 in damages":
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/university-student-sues-police-school-over-violent-arrest/article1649574/

April 2010
"Independent Review for the University of Western Ontario"  by Gwen Boniface, Former
Commissioner of Ontario Provincial Police:
http://uwo.ca/local_files/downloads/boniface-report-final.pdf

"Western Student in Violent Arrest Video Goes Public: Irnes Zeljkovic Speaks Out:"
( Video ):
http://www.atv.ca/london/news_73103.aspx

[benny88]

Are you kidding me? I don't care if he was in a "disoriented" state and "didn't want to fight anyone" if a person fluent in English is in a state such that they can't comprehend orders to submit to a handcuffing what's to say that in that state they might think it a prudent action to grab for a police officer's weapon if the situation is pussyfooted? A few "deep bruises" on some nut are better than one of my friends being hurt on campus at UWO. I'm not unsympathetic to him being in a not completely lucid mental state, but he's no worse for the wear so he can frig off.