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Sep 3, 2009 9:10 am US/Eastern
Father Of UM Student Falsely Detained Is Furious
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Mitch Chusid is furious that two University of Miami police officers pulled their guns on his son as they detained him for questioning.
CBS
It was not the warmest welcome the University of Miami Police could've given to brand new transfer student Jordan Chusid on the first day of class.
"It was a very scary experience, I had 2 guns pulled on me," said Chusid.
UM communications students' cameras were rolling when a pair of campus police officers mistook him for a theft suspect last week.
Guns drawn they ordered Chusid to the ground, kicked his arms out from under him and cuffed him. Jordan's father Mitch Chusid, a litigation attorney, is furious.
"The officer who pulled the gun really thought he was like Clint Eastwood, it was clearly uncalled for under those circumstances. My son got on the ground immediately and you walk over to him and kick him? What's the point?" he told CBS4 reporter Natalia Zea.
The officers later apologized but the elder Chusid wants more than words.
"To just say 'Oh, we're sorry' that's nice. What would have happened if my son would have moved when they said get on the ground? What if he would've panicked and got up, not realizing what was going on? He would've been shot," said Chusid.
He is demanding the suspension of the officers involved and an overhaul of campus police policy. But The State Attorney's Office said after reviewing the matter that the officers hadn't committed a crime.
UM officials released a statement Wednesday evening announcing the results of their internal investigation. In the statement, school officials apologized again for the take-down, but say they found "campus police acted lawfully and properly in their apprehension of a student that matched the description of a perpetrator on campus."
While Chusid won't get a reformed policy, UM Police said they planned to implement, "re-training and counseling for the officers involved to stress appropriate interaction in a campus environment."
Chusid disagrees with the outcome of UM's internal investigation and says he plans to fight. Though he is an attorney who has litigated cases involving police use of excessive force, he says his family has no plans to file any lawsuits.
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