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AG’s Office investigates alleged police beating of mentally challenged boy

Three cops with the Dept. of Public Safety have been temporarily re-assigned to “non-police” duties pending the outcome of an investigation launched against them by a family claiming that the police officers assaulted a 17-year-old mentally challenged young man from Pago Pago.

 

In a memo issued by Acting Police Commissioner Save Liuato Tuitele dated Thursday, May 29, 2014 to all DPS personnel, Save wrote, “the Office of the Attorney General has been tasked by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to conduct an inquiry to ascertain the validity of the allegations.”

 

The police officers are: Officer Filemoni Amituana’i, Officer Sonny White, and Officer Patrick Tuvale Jr.

 

Amituana’i is relieved of his duties with the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and is now assigned to the Records Division under the direct supervision of Captain Kilisitina Simanu.

 

Tuvale is relieved of his duties with the Traffic Division and is now assigned to the Training Division under the direct supervision of Commander Tauese Vaaomala Sunia.

 

White, also with the Criminal Investigation Division, is also relieved of his duties and is now assigned to the Office of Motor Vehicles under the direct supervision of Commander Lumana’i Maifea.

 

In response to Samoa News inquiries, Save said the decision to hand the investigation over to the AG’s Office is “to protect and preserve the integrity of the Department of Public Safety.”

 

He said having the DPS Internal Affairs Division handle the case may cause a conflict of interest.

 

Samoa News understands that the family of the alleged victim, JayDee Te’o Frost, had filed a complaint against the officers involved, but the case was closed without any disciplinary action against the cops.

 

In addition, the case file did not include a single statement from any one of the officers that was named in the complaint.

 

Save confirmed this to be true. He said that when he went to look for this specific case file, he discovered that there were no written statements provided by the cops alleged to be involved in the attack, and that raised a red flag, as all cases should include statements from all parties involved.

 

“We need to look into this matter because the integrity of the Police Department is on the line,” Save said, adding that if this case had occurred off island, a multi-million-dollar lawsuit could be brought against the cops and DPS as a whole.

 

According to the allegations against the cops, during Police Week last month, while carrying out physical training, four cops allegedly assaulted John-Demas or “JayDee” Te'o Frost in Fagatogo.

 

The young man is said to suffer from a chronic mental disorder with psychotic and manic symptoms. His family members and those who know him say JayDee likes to hit and touch objects he passes.

 

During the early morning hours of Friday, May 16, JayDee was out walking with his two sisters when they came across the aforementioned cops.

 

It is alleged that JayDee hit a street sign and everything went downhill from there.

 

According to reports, the cops told JayDee to stop, and JayDee questioned them and asked what he was doing wrong. The cops, who may have taken this as a sign of disrespect, basically told JayDee to stop hitting the sign or else.

 

But JayDee was persistent, insisting that he had done nothing wrong. The back-and-forth dialogue eventually triggered an episode and JayDee reportedly started screaming and getting out of control.

 

At this point, the cops allegedly started assaulting JayDee, as his sisters tried to jump in, telling the cops that their brother is mentally challenged; but the assault allegedly continued.

 

JayDee and his sisters were then escorted to the police station where they were separated.

 

The family alleges that the cops never called for medical help and it wasn’t until JayDee and his sisters were released that the family was able to take JayDee to the hospital.

 

Even JayDee’s father is alleged to have stopped by the police station, to inquire about what happened to his son and he was told that someone would be contacting him. However, the call never came.

 

In the meantime, Save said the AG’s Office will be carrying out an independent investigation of the allegations, and Lt Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga has already been briefed about the situation. Save said Lemanu has given him the nod to refer the case to the AG’s Office for further investigation.

 

Samoa News understands that Deputy Attorney General Mitzie Jessop has agreed to have their office look into the case.