Cops Mistake Innocent College Student for Suspect, Beat Him Unconscious

[phill4paul]

Grand Rapids, MI – In a case of mistaken identity, an undercover cop and an FBI agent beat an innocent college student unconscious because he matched a vague description of a different suspect. After a jury acquitted him of felony charges, the young man recently filed a lawsuit against the officers for using unreasonable force and ordering witnesses to delete footage taken of the incident.

On July 18, 2014, Grand Valley State University student James King was walking to his job when FBI Special Agent Douglas Brownback and Grand Rapids Police Detective Todd Allen approached him asking for identification. After King told them that he didn’t have his ID with him, the undercover cops ordered him to lean against an unmarked SUV with his hands behind his head. As King complied and Brownback took his wallet, King reportedly asked them, “Are you mugging me?”

When the unshaven, plainclothes cops refused to reply or identify themselves as law enforcement officers, King fled in fear for his life. According to King’s lawsuit, the then-21-year-old student managed to run three steps before the undercover cops tackled him to the ground. Before being choked unconscious, King screamed for witnesses to call the police.

While later testifying under oath, Allen recalled beating King in the head and face “as hard as I could, as fast as I could, and as many times as I could.”

After regaining consciousness, King once again shouted for help and bit Allen’s arm “in a panicked attempt to save his own life.” As uniformed officers arrived on the scene and asked King if he had any weapons, the assaulted student answered, “No, sir. I thought they were trying to mug me.”

When King asked “please guys, is he a real police?” an officer refused to respond and ordered him to stay on the ground while waiting for an ambulance.
Although witnesses recorded the brutal beating on their cell phones, Grand Rapids Police Officer Connie Morris immediately ordered several of the bystanders to delete their videos without the legal authority to do so.

“We got undercover officers there… Delete it, delete it. It’s for the safety of the officers,” Morris can be heard saying in audio recorded through police car dash cam video

“They were out of control, pounding him,” one bystander can be heard saying in the only video that still exists. “They were pounding his head for no reason. They were being brutal… We thought they were going to kill him.”

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/in...delete-cell-phone-videos/#uqWAAg3relcDZ8Um.99

 

[heavenlyboy34]

I'm feeling freer just reading that.

 

[specsaregood]

Next time that'll teach him not to be innocent.

 

[phill4paul]

I'm feeling freer just reading that.

If you haven't done anything wrong......

 

[bunklocoempire]

It's only a mistake if you don't learn from it.

 

[osan]

“They were out of control, pounding him,” one bystander can be heard saying in the only video that still exists. “They were pounding his head for no reason. They were being brutal… We thought they were going to kill him.”

And yet all they did was nothing. Those two criminals should have been shot stone dead on the spot, but nobody lifted a finger to help.

We are mainly a nation of filthy cowards.

 

[Mani]

I love the irony of the other officer yelling for deleting the video FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OFFICERS.....While the officers beat an innocent man almost to death.

I bet that irony goes way over their head.

 

[unknown]

Qualified Immunity goes to SCOTUS via attack on James King.



After Police Brutally Beat & Hospitalized James King, The Government Closed Ranks and Is Using a Legal Shell Game To Avoid Accountability

You probably don’t know it, but federal agents are working closely with police where you live.

 

[jkr]

oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please! oh please!

 

[Occam's Banana]

James King case referenced in the quoted video (esp. @ 22:50-25:50 & 35:45-36:55):

Cop’s Lies Sent Innocent Girls to Prison…Still Employed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf_NetF2l9k
{Institute for Justice | 25 August 2025}

In this episode, we bring you the disturbing story of St. Paul police officer Heather Weyker, whose lies led to the wrongful prosecution of dozens of people—and put an innocent teenage refugee in jail for two years. Will she ever be held accountable?

Today we’re joined by IJ senior attorney Patrick Jaicomo, one of the leaders of IJ's Project on Immunity and Accountability.

We’re discussing Patrick’s lawsuit against Officer Weyker, how courts have systematically closed doors to government accountability, and how IJ is trying to wrench those doors back open.

Hamdi’s Case Page: https://ij.org/case/task-force-immunity-and-accountability/
James King’s video: Officers Nearly Beat Innocent College Student to Death—Then Claim Immunity from All Accountability