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On Jan. 26, a federal lawsuit was filed against five Atherton police officers and a current staff member of Sequoia Union High School District for the excessive force and unreasonable arrest of two Menlo-Atherton High School students in April 2023.
The lawsuit names David Metzger, Diego Romero, Igor Davidowich, Joshua Gatto and Dimitri Andruha of the Atherton Police Department and Stephen Emmi, who was previously vice principal at the Atherton school. Emmi has since been promoted to the wellness programs coordinator for Sequoia Union High School District.
“The April incident has gone to the next level,” said Dan Molieri, a retired police officer and lead investigator at the Oakland-based Law Offices of John Burris, which is representing the family of the student.
“We would not have filed this lawsuit if we didn’t think we would win,” said Burris.
‘We would not have filed this lawsuit if we didn’t think we would win.’
John Burris, Law Offices of John Burris
Evan Goldsen, co-founder of San Francisco-based law firm Special Education Collaboration Project, filed a discrimination claim against administrators in October 2023. Goldsen told this news organization that the Sequoia Unified High School District did not respond to the filed claim, leading to its rejection after 45 days of no action.
An injury claim filed in June 2023 was rejected by the town of Atherton in August 2023.
The Jan. 26 filing recounts two Black 16-year-old M-A students, who the suit refers to by the names K.C. and D.B. K.C. was forcefully restrained and arrested by Atherton police on April 28, 2023 and also suffers from an emotional disturbance impairment, according to the filing. The filing notes that his friend, D.B., was also detained and handcuffed for being “in the way” of the arrest.
According to the lawsuit, this incident began when Emmi intentionally denied K.C the return of his pool noodle-like water “gun” that was confiscated by the school during a game being played by him and other students called “Senior Assassin.” The filing states that other students were able to retrieve their water toys except for K.C.
View the lawsuit here:
Molieri clarified that “this was never a dispute over a ‘gun.'”
The situation escalated when Emmi began to speak in a demeaning manner toward K.C. resulting in his emotional distress and frustration, according to the filing. This situation led another office administrator to call the police, informing the 911 operator that K.C. was a “mental health student” who was “easily triggered.”
M-A administrators failed to involve a special education teacher as the situation got out of hand, a requirement for staff in situations that involve an emotional disturbance episode, the filing claims.
From the emotional distress, K.C. removed himself from the office and was approached by Atherton police at the bus stop while waiting alongside D.B and other students. Police asked to speak to K.C. but he informed the officer that he couldn’t because he was a minor, the suit states.
After continuing to refuse arrest, K.C. was forcefully slammed to the ground and handcuffed while an officer pressed his knee into his back, the suit reports. K.C. had recently had a hernia surgery so the “harsh movements” were extremely painful for him, according to K.C.’s attorneys.
D.B., who was adamant about staying by K.C.’s side, was handcuffed and forced to sit on the ground while his friend was pinned to the floor, the suit states. D.B. remained seated at the bus stop while K.C. was taken to the police station and was released upon an explanation on why he was detained.
The suit also alleges that K.C.’s confidential school behavior reports were acquired by the town of Atherton without a search warrant or the consent of K.C. and his guardians.
Prior reports made by the police department on a news bulletin, stated that K.C. “physically assaulted a school administrator by pushing them into a cubicle wall, tried to push the administrator’s glasses off their face, spit on them, and called them derogatory homophobic slurs.”
According to the student’s attorneys, at no point did K.C. touch or spit at Emmi or anyone else in the office.
“False statements create credibility questions and you can’t trust them,” said John Burris, the plaintiff’s attorney. “Police officers will do anything to justify their conduct.”
‘All these officers should face criminal charges for what they’ve done to these children’
Dan Molieri, investigator for the Law Offices of John Burris
As parties in the lawsuit, Atherton Police Department and Sequoia Union High School District declined to comment on the Jan. 26 filing.
“All these officers should face criminal charges for what they’ve done to these children,” said Molieri, who compares this incident to the indictment of Antioch and Pittsburg police officers in 2023. Molieri said that school officials and police have committed federal offenses by making false police reports and harming a minority child with special needs.
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