Yale Athletics
In three newly released documents, police said they Tased and beat this student after he disobeyed them, sneered at them, then attacked. His lawyer denied their account.
Jordan Jefferson and Zachary Fuhrer were ordered to stay off their cell phones. They disobeyed that command, drawing the ire of police who had raided a private party at a downtown nightclub. Then it got personal. Fists were clenched, and a Taser came out.
Jefferson and Fuhrer ended up in handcuffs. Jefferson, a 6’ 3” football player, was Tased twice and subdued by multiple officers, then taken to the hospital.
That version of events is included in newly released police reports about the arrest of two Yale students during a police action in the Elevate lounge on College Street, where Yale students were holding a private party on Oct. 2. Police said they received a report that the bar was overcrowded and sent in a group of officers, including two in SWAT gear, to check on underage drinking. The cops ordered everyone to put their phones away as police checked IDs and counted occupants. The raid was part of “Operation Nightlife,” a crackdown on the downtown club district; it led to charges of police misconduct that have attracted national attention and prompted an internal police investigation.
Police previously refused to disclose many details of the official version of what cops say happened inside Elevate. In response to a Freedom of Information request from the Independent, the city released three incident reports on Wednesday, offering a picture of the evening’s events. The reports indicate that the two arrests stemmed from the disobeying of an order to put cell phones away. The reports do not explicitly state why that order was given.
Lawyers for the arrested students declined to comment on the details of the case. Jefferson’s attorney said he doubts the accuracy of the police reports.
Two other local lawyers weighed in, and commented on the role of cell phones in modern police/civilian relations. Attorney Norm Pattis called the arrests of Jefferson and Fuhrer “a new low.” Attorney Elia Alexiades said that the students should have had a right to use their cellphones. Both lawyers predicted the courts won’t see it their way.
The Oct. 2 raid on Elevate was part of the ramped-up police activity in New Haven’s bars following downtown shooting in September. In the wake of that raid, police have faced a backlash of complaints from Yale students who say police were verbally and physically abusive.
The crackdown has resulted in a number of complaints about excessive police aggression in other incidents. Police are looking into cop conduct during a Crown Street arrest on Sept. 10, the ticketing of a motorcyclist on Sept. 23, the arrest of a Quinnipiac Student on Sept. 25, and the Elevate raid on Oct. 2.
Video of three of those incidents has surfaced. A clip shot inside Elevate shows cops subduing a person on the floor, then turning to address the crowd and shouting “Who’s next?” and “Anybody else?” (Click the play arrow to watch that footage.)
The person on the floor may have been Jordan Jefferson. The details of his and Fuhrer’s arrest — from the perspective of police — are laid out in a reports prepared by Officer Mathew Abbate and J. Marshall, and Lt. Thaddeus Reddish. Read them here.
Abbate’s report begins like a policy paper, with five paragraphs describing the policing problems presented by the club district and the city’s actions to address them. It then describes the raid on Elevate.
Here’s what happened, according to Abbate, Marshall, and Reddish:
Colt
At around 1:32 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2, the three cops were assisting state liquor officials inspecting Elevate. Reddish, the head of the SWAT unit, was loaded with “tactical gear” and armed with a Colt M4 rifle (pictured) in addition to his standard Glock handgun.
Police told everyone in the club to sit down and be quiet, “secure their cell phones” and produce identification.
“The crowd of patrons continued to talk on their phones, and talk loudly,” Reddish wrote. “The group overall complied but several males continued to use their phones in total disregard of the ongoing investigation.” Two in particular, Jefferson and Fuhrer, continued to use their phones and told others, “This is bullshit,” Reddish wrote.
Sgt. David Guliuzza told Fuhrer not to use his cell phone during the investigation. According to Abbate, Guliuzza said Fuhrer “hindered his duties by him having to repeatedly return to Fuhrer” to tell him to stay off the phone. Under Guliuzza’s orders, Fuhrer was arrested for interfering with an officer. “Fuhrer was set aside from the group and guarded by this officer,” Abbate wrote.
Fuhrer (pictured) was told to sit on the floor near the bar. Police put his phone on the bar, out of his reach. When Reddish turned his back, Fuhrer got up, retrieved his phone, and continued using it.
Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Ariel Melendez told Jefferson he couldn’t use his cell phone. When Melendez walked away, Lt. Reddish noticed that Jefferson took his phone back out and continued to use it. Jefferson said, “This is bullshit, who is this guy, who does he think he is,” Reddish wrote.
Reddish told Jefferson to get off the phone. Jefferson did not. Reddish told Jefferson to come to him. Jefferson looked up at him and smiled.
Reddish and Abbate walked over to Jefferson and Abbate escorted him away from a group of over 200 people. “While being escorted Jefferson began laughing and smirking at the crowd stating ‘fuck this shit,’” Abbate wrote.
Reddish “reiterated to Jefferson that he was interfering with the investigation, also explaining to him that his actions and vocal outbursts constituted disorderly conduct,” the lieutenant wrote.
“Lieutenant Reddish explained that Jefferson’s actions hindered the investigation by deterring other officers from doing their duties by having to repeatedly come back to him and tell him to put his phone away,” Abbate wrote. “While the Lieutenant was speaking to him Jefferson kept looking away and rolling his eyes, Jefferson was smirking and laughing at the lieutenant.”
Abbate decided to let Jefferson sit next to Fuhrer without putting him in handcuffs to “avoid the possible embarrassment of being handcuffed in front of his peers.”
“Jefferson, upon Lieutenant Reddish turning around stated ‘who the fuck this guy think he is,’” Abbate wrote.
As the inspection wrapped up, the people in the bar were lined up for counting and then let out of the club. Jefferson kept calling people over to him. He made remarks like “these guys are a joke” and “I’ll be out of this” and “this is nothing,” Abbate wrote. Jefferson continued to laugh at Lt. Reddish.
Then Abbate told Jefferson to stand up and put his hands behind his back. Reddish told him that he was under arrest for interfering and disorderly conduct. That’s when the real trouble began.
Jefferson is six feet and three inches tall and weighs 215 pounds, according to the report.
“Jefferson stood up and I saw him immediately clench his fists,” Abbate wrote. He said he was not going to be arrested. Abbate grabbed Jefferson’s left hand and started to handcuff him.
“Jefferson stiffened up and tried to push me away with his left hand,” Abbate wrote. “I felt Jefferson’s arm tighten up and I noticed him moving around more. I felt Jefferson was going to fight.
“I pulled out my Tazer X26 and placed it to Drive Stun Mode. I told Jefferson that if he fights I will use it against him. Lieutenant Reddish and I attempted again to place Jefferson in handcuffs. Jefferson pushed off me and swung his left arm back at me. I deployed my Tazer X26 into the rear of the right shoulder of Jefferson. Jefferson turned away and threw a punch at me, striking my hand. I attempted to grab onto Jefferson and bring him to the ground. Jefferson continued to fight and punched Lieutenant Reddish one time directly in the chest. With Jefferson swinging his fists at me I again deployed my Tazer X26, striking him in the chest. Jefferson continued to fight.”
Meanwhile, Officer Marshall noticed the fight. “I rushed to Officer Abbate’s aid as Mr. Jefferson was much taller and larger than Officer Abbate,” Marshall wrote.
Marshall, Guliuzza, and Abbate together wrestled Jefferson to the ground.
“I heard numerous patrons cheering for Jefferson to continue to fight and some left the line to gather around us,” Abbate wrote. “This situation placed the officer’s safety in immediate jeopardy.”
Marshall ordered Jefferson repeatedly to get on his stomach and put his hands behind his back. Jefferson elbowed Marshall in the mouth.
“Fearing that Mr. Jefferson may overpower me I began to defend myself and struck Mr. Jefferson once in the face with a closed right fist and once in the side with a closed right fist,” Marshall wrote.
Abbate wrote: “I observed that Jefferson was continuing to assault police officers and was continuing to resist arrest by physically striking officers with forearms and elbows; I again deployed my Tazer X26 into the lower back and lower leg of Jefferson. Jefferson continued to not place his hands behind his back and officers had to physically remove them from underneath his person. Jefferson was eventually handcuffed.”
Jefferson was placed in a cruiser and transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital for evaluation and treatment. He was charged with three counts of assaulting a police officer, one count each of inciting a riot, interfering with a police officer, and disorderly conduct.
In a grainy police mug shot, Jefferson’s face appears to be swollen.
NHPD
The 4th Outfielder
Fuhrer’s attorney, Hugh Keefe, declined to comment on the case on Wednesday.
Jefferson’s attorney, Willie Dow, attacked the veracity of the police account. “Witnesses uniformly describe a scenario completely different from what is written in the officers’ report,” he said.
Jefferson was tased and injured and taken to the hospital, Dow said. “He’s still experiencing the consequences of manhandling by police and continues to receive medical treatment.”
Dow declined to comment further on the case beyond saying, “Interrupting a sanctioned social event with armed SWAT team members is not an effective way to address the problems presented by crowd dispersal on Crown Street in the early morning hours.”
Other lawyers, not involved in the case, spoke more freely.
Melinda Tuhus File Photo
Asked about the police charge that Jefferson and Fuhrer were interfering by not putting away their cell phones, attorney Norm Pattis (pictured) replied, “Welcome to the world of the fourth outfielder.”
The criminal code is written in such a way that there is always something that a cop can charge someone with, Pattis said. It’s like putting in an extra outfielder to catch all the fly balls the other outfielders might miss, he said.
Does Jefferson and Fuhrer’s refusal to put away cell phones rise to the threshold of interference?
“I hope not,” Pattis said. He said he hopes the case goes to trial, the students win, and then sue the police.
But that probably won’t happen, he added. “Judges love police and they forgive the fourth outfielder.” Cops are usually given the benefit of the doubt, he said.
Pattis said the police may have had a legitimate cause to ask people to put away their phones, but to arrest people who didn’t comply was not right.
“That’s a new low,” he said. It shows a lack of judgment by police, he said. “That looks to me like goose-stepping in New Haven.”
Melissa Bailey File Photo
Elia Alexiades, a local First Amendment lawyer, agreed that courts tend to be supportive of police in situations like the one they faced in Elevate. The cops were outnumbered and had been shot at just a few weeks before and a few blocks away.
People do not have an absolute right to use their cell phones anywhere and anytime, Alexiades said. “That’s a right that’s restricted all the time.”
“In Elevate you’re dealing with a complicated situation. It’s a private nightclub that the police have entered so it’s a scene of police activity,” Alexiades said.
“Should the students have a right” to use their cell phones? “I say yes. Whether they ultimately do, that remains to be seen.”
OK. Now we've heard the gospel according to St. John, when do we get to hear the real story.