“I’m innocent,” said Tekpatl (aka Albert Haedinger). As poverty scholar at Poor
Magazine, I met Tekpatl on October 2nd 2012 in Poor Magazine’s Community Newsroom. I was shocked to hear about his violent experience with UC Berkeley Police. Therefore, after I was assigned the story I began to research the case. Albert Haedinger alleges that he was legitimately on campus when he was beaten by two police officers. According to Mr. Haedinger, the officers violated his civil rights, and violently attacked him.
At the Newsroom, Mr. Haedinger handed me a flyer that reads "UC Berkeley Police Abuse of Authority" on one side. In that flyer I could see a lot of blood on his legs and on his T-shirt. Also, it appears that Mr. Haedinger was handcuffed. The other side was titled "Brutalized Twice: Police Beat Native Man and Now Want to Give Him Three Strikes!"
Mr. Haedinger told me that everything happened in the Spring Semester of year 2012, on March 3rd to be exact, between 3:30-4:00am, when UC Berkeley Campus Police brutalized him. According to Haedinger he was volunteering his time to teach Berkeley students about their culture and traditions. Haedinger told me that he got up to gargle his mouth in the communal bathroom because of a throat infection, and someone had probably called police because the person(s) thought he was a homeless person trespassing the premises. The UCPD officers targeted him while he was in a bathroom stall; when they requested his ID, he returned to the room he'd been staying in, and attempted to communicate this to the officers. The officers ran after him, and as he entered the room, one officer held him down while the other beat his shins with a baton multiple times inside the dorm room. I was skeptical of the police story.
I contacted the University of California Berkeley for verification. I received contradictory statements. One, from UCB's Office of Public Affairs, said, “Mr. Haedinger was not a guest on campus…” Another, the UC Police Department's Community Relations, stated “...received a call from a staff regarding suspicious person on site. Two officers responded… the suspect was uncooperative and started punching at the officers. The suspect did not identify himself as being a guest on campus.” Furthermore, UC Campus Police alleged “the officers did not target the suspect in a random search, the officers were called to the scene by a campus staff. The suspect was arrested. UC Campus Police say that the suspect may had been a guest on campus, but he did not let the officers know about it.” Community Relations of UCPD told me that a Police Review Board concluded there was no misconduct based on their own internal investigation.
I requested to see a copy of the police report and the UC police refused. My understanding is that Haedinger is currently being charged with resisting arrest, serious bodily injury to an officer, disturbing the peace, and obstruction of justice. Recently, the accusation of serious bodily injury was added, in exchange for battery of a police officer.
I wonder, if Mr. Haedinger was handcuffed, and if there are no witnesses to Haedinger laying a hand on anyone, how can the police report be consistent? Did the police who alleged being seriously injured walk around like nothing happened to him? Because the prosecution is also bringing up an 18 year old case from North Carolina, can it reinforce readers' understanding that the whole story is not credible? Mr. Haedinger told me that he was wrongfully convicted in North Carolina, and the District Attorney is trying to use it to prosecute him under the "famous three strikes" law, thus threatening him with life in prison.
In California's 2012 election, Proposition 36 was approved by the voters and made a change in the "Three Strikes Law." It revises the three strikes law to impose life sentence only when the new felony conviction is "serious or violent..." (http://ballotpedia.org/).
I received several letters in support of Albert Haedinger during the course of writing this article.
The Sacramento Native American Health Center writes that Mr. Haedinger has been “extremely active in his community.” This letter reads that Mr. Haedinger has been a mentor to many men and women in the Warrior Down reentry support program. Warrior Down is a peer-to-peer support group that helps secure employment, provides educational opportunities, and helps people connect with emotional, mental, physical, cultural and spiritual resources. Mr. Haedinger has been a model for other members in our community. Mr. Haedinger is an outstanding father to his daughter and son to his parents.
Mr. Haedinger’s daughter wrote another letter: “…He showed them (the police) his ID, but they beat him anyway. It was painful for my dad to walk. He didn't deserve it. My dad also told me if he got locked up he would lose his job. I would never want my father to loose his job, or anybody else. My father also participates in my one sport - soccer. My dad also takes part in my schoolwork, too. He comes to the parent conferences, and if I need help with any homework he takes his time to help me. He also takes me to my dentist appointments, which is very caring. My dad pays for my phone….I love my dad and I would never want anything bad to happen to him. I really care about my dad.”
A third letter of four pages is from Albert Haedinger' parents. They write that Mr. Haedinger is a very caring and devoted son who helps them immensely considering his dad is 97 years old and his mom is 83 years old. They said they depend on Mr. Haedinger for a lot of assistance. They also said they know that Mr. Haedinger helps out in the Native community.
Mr. Haedinger informed me that he has carried a 4.0 grade average since 1999 till the present. He has received honors certificates over the years, and his most prestigious certificate was awarded in 2010, in Business Law. Mr. Haedinger said he has been employed by the State of California for 5 years now, with excellent progress reports from his supervisor.
Mr. Haedinger also said he has not had any police contact since he was released from probation.
If you would like to help Mr. Haedinger, please join him at his upcoming court date:
January 28th, 2013. Time: 8:45a.m. Location: Alameda County Courthouse, Wiley W. Manuel, 661 Washington Street, Oakland, CA 94607. To express your opinions on this case, call Alameda County Deputy District Attorney John Creighton, direct line 510-268-7500, reception 510-272-6222. Tell him to drop all charges against Albert Haedinger.