Jurors Told Deputies Beat Party-Goers in ’89 Cerritos Melee

A February, 1989, bridal shower at the home of a family of Samoan Americans turned into a melee that left some party-goers bruised and bloodied by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, a lawyer for the family told a Superior Court jury Tuesday.

The opening arguments came in a lawsuit filed by 38 people, most of them Samoan Americans, seeking $20 million in damages from the Sheriff’s Department. In the 1989 incident, the suit alleges, 100 deputies in riot gear stormed the gathering in Cerritos and severely beat party-goers, many of whom were arrested.

Family members say what was supposed to be a happy occasion turned into a nightmare.

“You just feel vulnerable,” said David Dole, who suffered severe head trauma and a broken hand from police baton blows. “At any time, law enforcement can come into your home and do whatever they want to.”

Sheriff’s deputies, however, maintain that family members and friends at the party threw rocks and bottles and resisted arrest when officers came to the home after a call about people fighting in the street with sticks and knives.

The mayhem, which was videotaped by a neighbor, broke out at the home of Arthur Dole during the bridal shower for his daughter, Melinda Dole Paopao.

Deputies, responding to complaints from neighbors, brutally beat revelers and ransacked the house, family members maintain.

But authorities say those arrested attacked and injured several officers trying to break up the party.

Nobody arrested during the incident was convicted of a crime. Charges against some were dropped and others were acquitted, said Garo Mardirossian, lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

Mardirossian characterized the deputies as “overzealous” in their attempt to break up the party and said racial epithets were hurled at party-goers as they were beaten with metal clubs and flashlights.

He told the jury that officers arrested party-goers, planted evidence and lied on reports in an attempt to cover up the incident.

But Paul Paquette, a lawyer for the Sheriff’s Department, said the deputies followed proper procedures and used necessary force.

“You’re going to need to look real close (at the videotape),” Paquette told the jury. “People were struck because they are resisting being handcuffed.”

Emily Dole, hostess of the party and a professional wrestler known as “Mt. Fiji,” said she has been unable to work because of trauma from the incident. She blames Sheriff Sherman Block for the deputies’ actions. “It starts with the top brass,” she said.