RESEIVED AUG 2 4 op7 ZARED KINAH JONE'S COMPLAINT AGAINST THE FOLLOWING GREENSBORO POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS: SA ALVAREZ, JM CHAVEZ CORPORAL JOHNSON OFFICER WHITE SERGEANT FLOWERS AND OTHER GPD OFFICERS AND OTHER "BIKE SQUAD" /"STREET TEAM" GPD OFFICERS ALL TO BE NAMED WHEN THEIR IDENTITIES BECOME KNOWN On the evening of September 10, 2016, Zared Kinah Jones and three friends (all young black men) drove to downtown Greensboro anticipating a fun night out on the town, Zared had worked all week at his job in the medical field and was looking forward to hanging out with his three friends. This night was one of the rare occurrences when they all had the free time to go out together. When they arrived downtown they parked on South Elm Street near Cheesecakes by Alex and stood there by the car for a while discussing where they should go. But before they could decide on a destination, five or more police officers approached on bicycles and surrounded them. The officers began aggressively asking questions about what they were doing and where they were going. Naturally alarmed and confused as to why officers would question them for merely standing on a sidewalk, the four friends responded by asking the officers why were they were questioning them. The officers said that they were the "street team" and that it was their job to {g0 Out into the community and question people. ‘The officers then dispersed and Zared and his friends, while very disturbed by what had just transpired, but thinking the worst was behind them, and still wanting to have a good night, walked south down Elm Street to find a place to go. Zared and one friend, walking a little ahead of the other two, decided to go to a bar called The Boiler Room on McGee Street. The friend was denied entry because he was wearing sweatpants, but Zared was allowed entry and proceeded into the bar alone. Once inside, Zared, approached the bar and asked the bartender for a beer and handed her some money. She took his money and told him he would need to pay more for a beer and walked away without returning his money. Zared stood by the bar for approximately ten minutes trying to get the bartenders attention before a bouncer approached him and asked him if there was a problem. Zared said the bartender wouldn’t serve him and asked to speak to the manager. Another bouncer then grabbed Zared from behind in a choke hold and dragged him outside onto sidewalk adjacent to McGee street. Once outside, having just been assaulted in the Boiler Room, Zared spotted a police officer, namely, Corporal Johnson, standing across the street. Zared approached Corporal Johnson and explained to him that he had just been assaulted in the Boiler Room and needed help and possibly wanted to press charges. Corporal Johnson asked for Zared's LD., which Zared provided, and then, carrying Zared's ILD. in his hand, went into the Boiler Room to investigate.Zared, from across the street, saw that his three friends were standing nearby on the sidewalk in front of the Boiler Room and that they again had been surrounded by the same “street team * that had questioned them earlier in the evening by the car. Zared crossed the street and asked Corporal Jenkins if something was wrong and tried to explain that his friends were there with him and he was waiting for Corporal Johnson who was inside the bar with his LD. investigating his complaint. Multiple officers surrounded the four friends as they all began to attempt to. explain that they were legally standing on the sidewalk and waiting for Zared to get his LD. back. ‘The Officers stood in front of the four friends and blocked passage down the sidewalk in front of the Boiler Room. Corporal Johnson asked Zared to wait in the street and Zared complied and backed up into the street while Corporal Johnson continued his investigation. At this point, things began to escalate as a number of officers arrived and inserted themselves into the situation. One such officer, Sergeant Flowers, arrived on a bicycle and threw his bicycle down and rushed up to the door of the Boiler Room and rushed back and said that Zared and his three friends had all been kicked out of the bar and told them all they had to leave. Zared again explained that Corporal Johnson had his LD. and was investigating what happened to him in the Boiler Room and explained that he, Zared, was the only one that went in the bar and that his friends couldn’t have been kicked out of bar they had never entered. Sergeant Flowers then, without waming or reason, grabbed Zared by the arm and slammed a handcuff down on Zared's wrist. Zared's friend, exasperated by what was happening to Zared, then made a swiping motion at Sergeant Flower's hand and asked, "what are you doing!?” Officer $ A Alverez, who also had just inserted himself into the situation after Zared asked for help, thrust his hands into Zared's friend's back and violently shoved him forward. The friend reacted by turning around swinging a fist at his unseen attacker. The friend was then brutally beaten. He was thrown against a car and picked up by both ankles which caused his face to slam against the sidewalk. The friend then got to his feet long enough to plead for an explanation before three or more officers simultaneously tased him, He fell to the ground screaming and shaking in violent fits as the electricity from the tasers surged through his body. Officer Alverez then took Zared to the jail and charged him with Second Degree Trespass and for being Intoxicated and Disruptive. The warrant further alleged that Zared "appeared intoxicated” and “interfered with passage across a sidewalk". As the charging officer, and in light of the actual facts, Officer Alverez committed perjury when he swore under oath that Zared did the things enumerated in the warrant. The charges against Zared were dismissed on May 24, 2017. For eight months Zared went to court date after court date, sometimes sitting in the courtroom for multiple hours, fearing for his job and his future. The harassment of Zared and his friends began as soon as they arrived downtown and continued until they were finally beaten and arrested. In Zared's case, he was arrested because he made the mistake of asking a police officer for help. Zared wants an apology. He wants the City to do the right thing and hold the officers in the Greensboro Police Department accountable. His hope is that, ifthe police are held accountable, they will stop terrorizing black people. He wants the GPD to admit publicly that his arrest wasillegal. That his constitutional rights were violated. That he was arrested because of the color of his skin, Zared also wants the City of Greensboro to follow all the recommendations enumerated by the The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in it's report on the 1979 Greensboro Massacre. Zared wants peace and justice. x Attomey for Zared Kinah Jones PO Box 41023 —_ NC 27404