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- Statement by David Curtis, GMU student who witnessed the attack on GMU student Tariq Khan during a peaceful counter-recruitment protest -
Wow! This is all really funny, if not for the fact that most of what folks are saying here is complete BS.
I say this because I was there the entire time, standing no more than 6 feet away throughout the entire thing.
I saw Tariq with his signs during the Arab Student Association dance, and then was on my way to write a paper when I noticed that he was surrounded by 3 people, raising their voices at him and getting in his face, and not permitting him to respond to their questions and accusations.
This made me curious, so I stopped to listen, and as two of these people were being loud and aggressive, help out if need be. Seeing as they persisted in simply mindlessly yelling at him, I decided to butt in with an answer to just one question, upon which these two decided to turn their anger on me. Fine by me.
That's when things got heated. Not because Tariq was standing there with signs, but because someone else chose not to let aggressive assholes shout at him incessantly. Tariq barely even raised his voice in defense of himself. I however, argued with those two for a minute, giving back exactly the level of respect (and volume) that I received from them.
They hurried away when the representative of JC operations showed up. Tariq was told that he needed a permit to table, which he wasn't doing, and which he replied that he wasn't doing. The Ops Rep told him that he needed to go to the second floor to get a permit, and Tariq asked him why he needed a permit to talk to people in the JC (which he doesn't).
The Ops Rep told Tariq that if he was distributing information then he needed to get a permit, and Tariq replied that he wasn't "distributing information," but that if people asked him for information, then he would give it to them. The Ops Rep then asked him if he was a student, and Tariq said "Yes," and I confirmed to guy that he indeed is. Then the Ops guy told him that he needed to leave. Tariq again asked "Why," and the guy asked him if he needed to call campus police. Tariq then said "Call whoever you want to call."
Contrary to what some folks seem to think, JC operations staff do not have absolute authority in the JC. They cannot arbitrarily tell students to leave the premises for speaking to other students, or for giving them information if requested. Tariq, therefore, was not in violation of their rules, and therefore, was not in tresspass.
The officer who arrived (T.L. Reynolds, #38) approached Tariq and asked him what he was doing (he was writing a new sign to replace the one that had been ripped off of him by one of the angry guys following the last bit). Tariq told him what he was doing. The officer saw the crate of books that Tariq happened to have with him on a small cart, and told him that he couldn't table there. Tariq told him that he wasn't tabling. The officer then asked him what the books were for & Tariq explained that he does table sometimes on campus, but that he wasn't tabling then.
The officer then told him that he needed to take the books outside, and Tariq replied that he didn't because he was not tabling and it is not illegal for him to have a crate of books with him. The officer then asked him if he was a student, and Tariq said that he was. Then the cop asked to see his ID, and he replied that he did not have it on him. The officer then told him to turn around, and Tariq asked "why", the officer said "turn around" again & Tariq said he didn't do anything wrong, and the officer pulled out his cuffs and reached for him and he backed away.
The cop then grabbed Tariq & brought him to the ground, Tariq then began telling people that he was being non-violent (and he was). The officer put him in a choke hold, though he was not resisting. Even as his eyes were watering and face turning red, Tariq repeated that he was not being violent, and that the cop was attacking him. The cop let off to try to cuff Tariq, and pulled him to his feet, at which time Tariq tried to walk away & the cop threw his arms around him, first crashing him into two people and spilling a lady's coffee, and then crashing him into the stage in front of the bookstore. Tariq now has a cut on his forehead from this.
The officer then picked up Tariq from behind, and slammed him unto the stage, and then back onto the floor, laying with his torso across his neck to cut off Tariq's blood and oxygen flow. Throughout all of the above, Tariq reiterated when possible that he was not being violent, and that the officer was attacking him for no reason. Tariq's face began to turn red again and his eyes were watering. Next, two students, including one of the original aggressors against him, attempted to assist the officer with cuffing his hands (the cop had managed to get one hand cuffed by himself). They then backed off when witnesses gathered around and began asking them who they were and what authority they had in the matter.
Then, another campus employee, who was not a police officer, came over and put Tariq's free arm in a "kamora" jiu-jitsu maneuver, bending and twisting it back until he was in visible pain. Then one of the students (the one who was not one of the earlier aggro-types) cuffed the second wrist. Then the second cop showed up, and the two cops proceeded to lift him up by the arms and drag him out the exit by the parking garage.
When Tariq refused to get into the police car, and demanded that the police unhandcuff him and let him free, one officer threatened to pepper spray him directly in the face. Tariq then announced loudly for the surrounding students to hear, "he's going to pepper spray me while I'm non-violent. If you have a camera, get pictures of it."
Immediately a student took out her camera and pointed it at the officers. This casued the officer to put the pepper spray away and say, "I'm not pepper spraying anyone." Then other officers attempted to block the sight of observers so that no one with a camera could get a good shot.
One cop said to Tariq, "hey, I'm just trying to help you out." To which Tariq replied, "Hey everyone, this cop just wants to help me out! Hey officer, if you want to help me out, then get these handcuffs off of me and let me go." Then the cops picked Tariq up and forced him into the back of the police car.
He was taken to the police station on campus where the police asked him if he needed any medical treatment (as a result of their brutal handling of Tariq). He replied that yes he did, and officer Reynolds said he'd get him some, but never did.
Officer Reynolds also asked Tariq if he wanted a lawyer present, to which Tariq replied that yes, he did want a lawyer present. Reynolds said he'd get one, but never did.
After enduring much insults from two police at the police station, Tariq was then taken to the Fairfax Adult Detention Center, and officer Reynolds instructed Tariq to keep his mouth shut and not even look at anyone at the jail, because if he even so much as looks at an officer wrong, they will "hang you from the ceiling by your feet."
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