Inglewood Chokehold Case Still in Limbo

Neilson Williams, hospitalized for three days in June after a violent altercation with Inglewood police, has not been charged with any wrongdoing, according to a Police Department spokesman.

Williams was struck by police officers and rendered unconscious by a chokehold after leaving an Inglewood park late on the evening of June 23. One of the officers in the beating was Jeremy J. Morse, who has since been charged with abuse in the aggressive July 6 arrest of a handcuffed teenager that was captured on videotape.

In his incident report, Morse said Williams sparked the confrontation by resisting officers. Williams, 32, denies the officer’s account.

A story in The Times on Wednesday chronicled the June 23 altercation, noting that Williams was never arrested. The story reported that Inglewood police said a warrant exists for Williams’ arrest. Inglewood police on Friday denied such an assertion had been made, adding that no warrant exists and that they have yet to file a criminal complaint against Williams.

“Obviously, since this is a relatively complicated case, it is taking us time to review,” said Inglewood police spokesman Lt. Alex Perez. Perez said Inglewood investigators are preparing a criminal complaint against Williams on charges of battery and resisting officers. They plan to file the case with the district attorney within two weeks. “It is going to be filed, but it just has not been filed yet,” Perez said.

Williams’ attorney, Steven Lerman, said the fact that Williams has not been arrested or charged suggests that the altercation was mishandled by police.

“The very fact that Mr. Williams was never charged indicates a consciousness of guilt for what happened to him,” Lerman said. “If there should be any criminal action, it should be against Jeremy J. Morse and other officers” at the scene.

Williams has filed a $75-million claim against Inglewood police alleging abuse. The Inglewood Police Department’s internal affairs division and the district attorney’s office are investigating the altercation but have yet to come to any conclusions.