Less than a week after Mayor Matt Mahan announced a bold push to arrest homeless people who refuse help, disturbing videos show San Jose police officers beating and verbally taunting an elderly homeless man — leading to a complaint from the local NAACP chapter.
At least six police surrounded a homeless man on Fruitdale Avenue between Leigh Avenue and Southwest Expressway around 8 p.m. on Monday. Multiple videos posted online show an officer pushing his knee onto the homeless man’s upper torso, while he is laying on the floor, his arms and face wrapped in a sweater. At one point, one officer throws five forceful punches while the other officers are holding him down. Officers are also heard on video making remarks about the man’s hygiene and sexual innuendo after the beating occurred. Officers also tried to hinder a bystander from recording.
A spokesperson for the San Jose Police Department said officers responded to a call about a man exposing himself, trespassing and masturbating the day prior. The man reportedly ran away from officers and bit one of them, leading to the use of force.
“Ultimately, the suspect was taken into custody and sustained minor injuries that did not require hospital evaluation,” the police spokesperson said.
Three officers were evaluated for minor injuries, the spokesperson added, and the man was taken into custody for indecent exposure, resisting arrest, and battery on an officer.
“As in all use of force incidents, an internal use of force investigation is underway to determine whether the officers acted within department policy and the law,” the spokesperson said.
Mahan said he’s contacted the city’s independent police auditor to review the incident.
“But the truth is, the suspect should have been indoors and in care, not exposing himself in a neighborhood – this is yet another example of why I am calling on our County to expand treatment options for those living and dying on our streets,” Mahan told San Jose Spotlight. “If this person had received the care he clearly needs, a neighbor would have never had to call 911 because she was scared that a homeless man was masturbating outside her residence, and he never would have repeatedly bit a police officer.”
@sanjosespotlight CW: This video contains sensitive content Less than a week after Mayor Matt Mahan announced a bold push to arrest homeless people who refuse help, disturbing videos show San Jose police officers beating and verbally taunting an elderly homeless man — leading to a complaint from the local NAACP chapter. Read more at SanJoseSpotlight.com Video courtesy of Dominic Corderro
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Mahan said use of force is always “hard to watch.”
“Our proactive department investigates all use of force cases to ensure our officers followed the law, and this incident is already being reviewed,” he said.
In a formal complaint Wednesday evening, NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley President Sean Allen demanded an investigation into whether the beating is a civil rights violation and excessive use of force.
Allen, a former Santa Clara County Sheriff’s correctional deputy with 34 years of law enforcement experience, says the beating raises questions about the culture of the police department under Chief Paul Joseph.
“What’s going on in that department?” Allen told San José Spotlight. “The fact that they were condescending toward the person, talking about his hygiene, knowing that he was unhoused, making sexual comments after beating him up, with no call for immediate medical assistance or assessment by professionals. All these things indicate a much larger problem.”
The incident happened a day before city leaders extended sidewalk sleeping and sitting restrictions from the morning starting at 8 a.m. to 12 a.m, allowing police to cite or arrest homeless people if they’re caught sleeping or sitting on the sidewalk by early morning.
‘Aggressive’ and ‘dangerous’
This is part of Mahan’s aggressive approach to making homelessness less visible on city streets.
Mahan last Thursday also unveiled an initiative that would allow police to cite or arrest homeless people who refuse shelter after three times in 18 months. The proposal aims to send people to the behavioral health court system and compel them to get treatment. If approved by the San Jose City Council, the policy would only apply to homeless people living in areas near newly-constructed shelters.
That policy could be sparking more aggression from law enforcement toward Silicon Valley’s homeless community, advocates worry.
“The mayor’s position is, in our belief, encouraging this aggressive stance toward people who are unhoused and mentally ill within the community,” Allen said.
San Jose resident Jennette Holzworth witnessed the beating and recorded a video she posted to Instagram. Holzworth said she heard a helicopter circling overhead and saw police surrounding Oscar, a homeless man who frequents the area. Oscar seemed to have mental health issues but never crossed anyone’s property, she said.
Neighbors say that Oscar was sleeping before the police came. Holzworth said officers threatened to arrest her as she was filming. She said she could hear Oscar yelling for help and calling for an ambulance. Officers put Oscar in the back of the car, and Holzworth said that she heard officers discussing how they would get their stories straight when they reported the incident.
Holzworth said she and her kids were traumatized by seeing the incident.
“This kind of stuff is to be expected when the mayor says get off the streets or go to jail,” Holzworth told San José Spotlight. “Just existing becomes criminal. And it’s a very dangerous track we’re on.”
Contact Joyce Chu at Joyce@sanjosespotlight.com or @joyce_speaks on X. Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.
This story originally appeared in San José Spotlight.
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