Defiant Man on Party Bus Acquitted of Beating a Cop in North Beach

By Erin Sherbert Thu., Sep. 1 2011 at 4:50 PM

... that includes rocking in your chair

Javon Morrow might be rabble rouser, but he's no cop beater. A San Francisco jury cleared the 30-year-old San Jose man of charges that he hit a local cop who had written him a ticket for loitering.

Last November, Morrow was on a party bus trekking through North Beach which had made a stop at Horizon Restaurant and Lounge on Broadway Street. He was outside smoking a cigarette for about five minutes when a San Francisco cop approached him and wrote him a ticket for loitering.

Morrow refused to sign the ticket, saying he had every right to be outside smoking.

And here is where the story gets interesting. According to the police officer, Morrow ran 100 feet, turned around, and hit him in the face before grabbing him by the collar and punching him in the ear several times. The officer claimed that Morrow also tried to grab for his gun, and so he hit Morrow repeatedly in the face to get him to comply.

However, Morrow and eyewitnesses told a much different story -- one that seemed more compelling to the jury. Morrow said that after refusing to sign the ticket, the officer forced his arm behind his back and threw him face-first into the ground. The officer then punched Morrow in the face multiple times.

Photos were released at the trial that showed extensive cuts and bruising on Morrow's face, while the pictures showed no injuries to the cop, aside from a small scratch and redness on his ear, according to the Public Defender's Office.

"The jurors saw that the photo evidence simply didn't back up the officer's story," said Deputy Public Defender Jack Lamar. "His arrest and beating wasn't about justice, it was about retribution. The police officer was angry at Mr. Morrow for being defiant and he took it out on him with his fists."

Follow us on Twitter at @SFWeekly and @TheSnitchSF

Tags:

Horizon Restaurant and Lounge, Javon Morrow, North Beach, party bus, San Jose, SFPD

We Recommend

Sad. You may as well call them what they truely have become, a gang.

Ateo

So why didn't the cop get charged with assault or for lying? This will not end until they, the police are held accountable.

Guest

Good for him! Where do they expect a person to smoke? This cop was an ass and shoukd have chgs filed against him and a civil suit

e_dog

The cop might have been in the wrong, but I think most North Beach bar patrons have it coming to them.

RolloverRiderPGR

It's called reading comprehension. Go back. Read the part about the party bus. He was on the bus. It stopped. He got off to smoke a cigarette which in most of CA is illegal to do on buses and inside most buildings with your homes coming soon. This idolt of a cop walks up to the guy and writes him a ticket for loitering.

OK, as is his right, the guy did not sign for the ticket.All a signature does is verify that you got the thing. In GA (yeah not CA) you don't have to sign. The ticket already has all the information proving in a way that the cop saw it on an ID. It's not saying you are guilty or anything but heck scratch something on it and get the cop out of your arse!

The Mo Ron cop gets bent out of shape thinking his word is from high above and unloads on a cigarette smoker who knew he was in the right of being outside of his ride smoking a butt!

I hope this guy never has to work a day in his life again and the cop gets a little unemployment and then has to sleep under bridges the rest of his life! I'm not a fan of smokers either but he was outside next to his ride which I bet when he came to court with his ticket the judge will throw it out and Mr. Idolt cop might get a reprimand for wasting the states money for the ticket, the waste of the courts clerks time for having to go through all the paper work, the DAs office time, the judges time that could have been put to better use as every bodies waste of time on it.

Now, he's the reason he'll lose his job and NEVER walk a beat again and the reason the broke arse state now has to pay a ton of money to a smoker! Brilliant!. He might get a wanna be cops job as a rent a cop but that'll be a stretch! He'll also get a record as this will become an arrest for assault, falsifying police reports and for being bumb as a CA liberal!

Richard H

Forget suing the SFPD, what about criminal action against the arresting officer? Christ, at least administrative action?

____

Just how much lower do we have to scrap the bottom of this barrel to hire decent, thinking cops? How stupid are these guys that we have right now? And does anyone even review what these jokers write and charge us with?

Kitty

He told me I was his Cinderella !! It’ s not a fair tale,it’s true.I’m a normal girl, not very beautiful or se xy. I never think anyone will love me until I met him in~~

Afflu~ent Sin*gle * c/-0 m ~~ a place connecting milli onaire admirers and we althy people. He said he had a special feeling for me! He want me to be his Queen!OH my god! It’s a dream? He is a certified milli onare!!I totally believe this after our first date.Don’t wait, you will be the next !