Apr. 12 – KGO – Protesters came out in force at the Davis City Council meeting Tuesday night. They’re outraged by the arrest of a Muslim teenager over a minor fender bender. The girl’s family is accusing the Davis police of racial discrimination. The ABC7 I-Team first broke this story last month.
The Davis city council got an earful over the arrest of a Muslim teenager in a minor fender bender.
Mansur Zahir, UC Davis student: “When I’m out late at night, I think about how afraid I am of the police, not how afraid I am of my fellow citizens.”
Davis police officer Pheng Ly arrested Halema Buzayan for misdemeanor hit and run, even though her mother insisted she was driving in a parking lot last June.
Najat Buzayan, mother: “Yes, I was driving — not Halema. Halema was with me in the car.”
Witnesses reported seeing the family SUV moving near a sedan that had been damaged. No one in the SUV recalled a collision, but the Buzayans cut a check for $870 for repairs to settle the issue.
Three days later, Officer Ly came to the family’s home at 9:30 p.m. on a school night and arrested Halema in her pajamas, charging her with misdemeanor hit-and-run.
Steven Baissa, UC Davis Cross Cultural Center: “It’s truly a sad testament to a city that we allow a 16-year-old to suffer like this.”
More than a hundred people crowded into the city council meeting to express their outrage.
Jann Murray-Garcia, Davis resident: “The city council and the Davis police should have apologized to this young woman and her family a long time ago. They should apologize today.”