Updates about what’s happening at M-A following the April 28 incident

Following the incident on April 28 when Atherton  police officers handcuffed two students and pinned one of them to the ground at a bus stop near the Menlo-Atherton High School, this story continues to develop.

Student journalist — and InMenlo contributing writer — Dylan Lanier reported on a protest that took place on May 11. He wrote:…”students assembled in and around the PAC Café to participate in the M-A Protest Organization’s scheduled walkout. They marched throughout campus to protest the police incident on April 28, which many viewed as an example of police violence specifically towards BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] individuals. Students then headed off campus towards Burgess Park, where they planned to reconvene.”

Read the full story and see the photos here.

The M-A Chronicle also reported on May 11 that “the family of the M-A student recently pinned down by Atherton police has retained John Burris, of Burris, Nisenbaum, Curry, & Lacy, as their attorney.” Burris, a noted civil rights attorney, confirmed that he has taken the case, but has not filed a lawsuit or taken legal action against the Atherton Police Department. Read the full story here.

Yesterday [May 12], reporter Emily Mibach wrote a story for the print edition of the Daily Post saying that the paper had learned that there is a video of the incident that caused school administrators to call the police, which the Post has requested from the Sequoia Union High School District.

According to Mibach, “a spokesman for the district told the Post to make a formal California Public Records Request, which give the district 10 days to delay its release.” She further explains that the district is evaluating whether the recording needs to be redacted before it’s released to the Post.

“The Post contends the recording is a public document for several reasons, not the least of which is that it was recorded in a public place and it was played to the entire school board,” she writes.

We will continue to follow developments in the story as they occur.

Photo courtesy of M-A Chronicle