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(< Continued from Home Page) On May 26, 2006 a Caucasian male by the name of Steven Mock was waiting for the bus at his local bus terminal in Los Angeles early in the morning.
An African American officer, Deputy Sheriff Carl Smith, cited Mr. Mock for being intoxicated in public while unfit to care for himself and for resisting arrest. According to the report filed by Officer Smith, Mr. Mock argued about being placed in custody which led Officer Smith to employ “control gaining” methods. Mr. Mock alleges that these included kicking Mr. Mock in the face, fracturing his mandible, jamming several teeth into his upper jaw, and fracturing his hand. Thereafter, Mr. Mock asserts that Deputy Smith threatened Mr. Mock with further “control gaining” techniques should he speak out about what actually happened. Once handcuffed Mr. Mock was forced into the back seat of the patrol car where according to Deputy Smith Mr. Mock was spitting out blood. Mr. Mock was taken to Greater El Monte Hospital where he was cleared for booking. He was then taken to the Temple Street police station where he was booked and held without medical care for several hours. After his release from custody Mr. Mock's broken jaw hand were finally diagnosed and he underwent two surgeries. They included wiring his jaw shut for several weeks and inserting plates and screws into his jaw. His broken hand was also set in a cast. While healing from his injuries Mr. Mock sought the assistance of Rosen & Zimmerman to represent him in his battle against the criminal charges brought by the LA District Attorney's Office. In addition to the charges, Rosen & Zimmerman had to contend with numerous barriers to obtaining evidence, the sudden disappearance of key county witnesses, and on the eve of trial, attempts to add new charges against Mr. Mock. Ultimately the court granted Rosen & Zimmerman's motion to dismiss the case holding that Deputy Smith never had probable cause to arrest Mr. Mock in the first place. In January of 2007 Mr. Mock hired Rosen & Zimmerman to file a civil action for the violations of his civil rights and for the physical harm he suffered. Unlike the uproar in the Rodney King and Tennie Pierce cases, Steven Mock's plight has been met by silence in the community. The case is being heard in Pasadena Superior Court. No trial date has been set at this time.
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