Above: Kayvan Sabeghi, Iraq war vet and Oakland business owner in police custody.
Oakland settles claims with Former Army Ranger Kayvan Sabeghi hurt in Occupy protests
The City Council on Tuesday agreed to pay $645,000 to settle the claim from an Iraq War veteran who was beaten by a police officer during an Occupy Oakland protest two years ago.
The settlement with Kayvan Sabeghi, who suffered a ruptured spleen, is the largest awarded so far to anyone injured during a string of Occupy Oakland protests in late 2011 and early 2012.
In July, the city agreed to pay $1.17 million to resolve 12 Occupy-related claims — including that of Scott Campbell, who filmed a police officer shooting him in the leg with a lead beanbag.
Sabeghi, who co-owned a brewpub in El Cerrito at the time of the attack, could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
A videotape circulated online showed him standing his ground against an advancing line of riot-clad officers shortly after midnight Nov. 3, 2011.
As the officers advanced, chanting repeatedly “Move!” Sabeghi, who is shown wearing a bandanna around his neck, backpedaled and at one point told the officers, “I want you to know I killed for this country.”
An officer then confronted him, yelling, “Get out of here!” When Sabeghi continued to hold his ground, the officer began beating him with his baton.
Sabeghi was arrested and taken to jail before being taken to Highland Hospital.
He was acting totally peacefully, and he told the police he was a veteran.
The violence followed a peaceful Nov. 2 Occupy-inspired daytime general strike. After many strikers went home, more militant protesters took over a city-owned building and started setting trash bins on fire.
Shortly after the incident, a friend of Sabeghi told Bay Area News Group that Sabeghi had participated in the peaceful strike at the Port of Oakland and then happened upon the chaotic scene later that night.
The eight-member council approved the settlement with Sabeghi in closed session Tuesday by a vote of 7-0, according to a person with knowledge of the proceeding. Councilwoman Desley Brooks was not present. The settlement was announced during Tuesday’s council meeting but must be ratified by the council at its next public meeting before it becomes official.
Oakland’s legal bill from its handling of the 2011 Occupy protests should continue to grow. The case of Scott Olsen, a Marine veteran struck in the head and seriously injured by a less-than-lethal projectile, has not yet been settled.
Contact Matthew Artz at 510-208-6435.