Harvard Professors To Represent Black Harvard Student Arrested

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Two Harvard Law School professors announced they plan to represent the black Harvard undergraduate whose arrest Friday in the middle of Mass Ave, where the man was standing naked, sparked allegations of police brutality in Cambridge.

Director of the Harvard Criminal Justice Institute Ron Sullivan along with Deputy Director Dehlia Umunna will represent the student, according to a press release Sullivan and Umunna released Tuesday. Sullivan represented former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in his double murder trial and has also represented the family of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old black man who was shot in Ferguson, MO in 2014, which prompted the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sullivan and Umunna said the student is still recovering from injuries he got when a police officer dove from behind him pushing him against another officer and to the cement median and street during the arrest late last week.

“He is currently recovering from injuries sustained during his encounter with the Cambridge Police Department,” Sullivan and Umunna said in the press release. “This has been and continues to be a trying ordeal for [the student] and for his family.”

The altercation was filmed by passers by and posted to Youtube. It shows that before the student’s arrest Friday, the undergrad appeared to be standing naked in the middle of the median along Mass Ave for some time as police stood in a circle around him. At one point the man steps forward and an officer tackles the student. The student starts screaming a high pitch scream. By standers yell at the police who are seen punching the man, that they don't need to to do that to him.

A Cambridge police report says the student clenched his fists was moving toward the officers, which prompted them to tackle the young man. But witnesses, some heard on the video say officers didn't need to tackle the man who was likely under the influence of drugs or experiencing mental health issues.

While the naked student is on the ground, police said he resisted arrest and so at least one officer punch the undergraduate in the stomach five times in an attempt to unpin the student’s arms and handcuff him.

Both Mayor Marc McGovern and Harvard's President called the incident "disturbing." Police say the incident is still under investigation, but the man in the video faces charges that include disorderly conduct and assault.

Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard, Jr. told reporters at a press conference Monday he supports the officers involved in the arrest.

Sullivan and Umunna, meanwhile, said they planned to focus on the student’s “health and well-being” and that the two lawyers would not comment further for the time being.

“We hope that the public will respect his privacy and afford him time and space to heal. We will not have further comment until such time as necessary,” Sullivan and Umunna said in the release.

“The video speaks for itself,” the duo wrote.

Previously on Patch:

Aaron Hernandez Appears in Court with New Legal Team

Mayor on the Video of the Cop Punching a Black Harvard Student

Here's a Tedx Talk featuring Ron Sullivan:

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File photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch