UPDATE: Local El Cerrito newspaper where Sabeghi's Brew Pub, Elevation 66 is located has a story with a photo of Mr. Sabeghi in the sidebar.
Kayvan Sabeghi, one of the three main [partners] who started the popular Elevation 66 brewpub in El Cerrito, suffered a lacerated spleen and other injuries in a beating by Oakland police on duty for the Occupy Oakland protests Wednesday night, according to the UK Guardian newspaper and one of his Sabeghi's partners. [...]
Brian Kelly, another partner at Elevation 66, told Patch this afternoon (Friday) that he had talked to Sabeghi Thursday.
"He was walking down 14th (14th Street in Oakland) away from the protest," Kelly said. "He walking to his house. He got beaten by police. He's got a lacerated spleen, maybe a couple of broken ribs too."
It's fairly clear from the picture that his skin tone is not lily white so the OPD may face possible Civil Rights violations, as well.
UPDATE 2: Video of interview with Guardian reporter who broke story:
UPDATE 3: Video of Sabeghi's beating (h/t chimene):
LINK to KTVU.com video showing the beating and Kayvan Sabehgi with police before he was arrested.
I personally saw nothing on the video at KTVU.com that indicated Kayvan Sabehgi deserved to be arrested, was resisting arrest or that beating him with batons was necessary to subdue him. I hope more video comes out so we can get a clearer picture of what happened to him.
Here is another video which includes an interview with Sabeghi's sister, Shoole Sabeghi:
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This diary updates the rec list diary about Kayvan Sabehgi, the Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was almost killed by the beating administered by the Oakland police and their further criminal neglect of his serious injuries.
First, Kayvan Sabehgi is a part owner of a local Brew Pub.
With El Cerrito's first modern brew pub, Elevation 66, set to open this Thursday, Sept. 1, El Cerrito Patch sat down with brewer David Goodstal for a beer Q&A. Chef Joel Coleman also offered a preview of the food.
Goodstal co-owns the business at 10082 San Pablo Ave. with his wife, Esther Goodstal, and former Pyramid Brewery colleagues Brian P. Kelly and Kayvan Sabeghi.
So not only did the Oakland Police unlawfully and unnecessarily brutalize a former Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran, but they also assaulted a small business owner. A man who is a "job creator" and entrepreneur, and a veteran who served his country as an Army Ranger in war. That's the person they chose to gang up on and beat for no reason, and then deny him medical care that could have led to his death.
Furthermore, the local ABC affiliate interviewed Kayvan Sabeghi's sister in this report. What she has to say will outrage you even more (if that is possible):
Sabeghi is a former Army [R]anger who served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sabeghi's sister Shoole Sabeghi said her brother dedicated his life to serving his country and that he did not deserve the treatment he received Wednesday night.
Before he went into surgery, Sabeghi told his sister that he was walking to his home near Frank Ogawa Plaza when he was stopped by police, hit in the abdomen four times and then arrested and taken to jail where he could not receive medical treatment.
"I am absolutely furious," [Sabeghi's sister Shoole Sabeghi] said. "I'm absolutely furious at the way they treated my little brother. I'm so mad. They hurt him and then they refused to help him."
Sabeghi underwent surgery at Highland for about two hours. [...]
"At one point he asked for assistance and they told him to stop taking heroin," Sabeghi said. "Another time they told him he was an alcholic and a diabetic, neither of which are true."
According to this report Sabeghi is out of surgery and recovering in intensive care.
That the police would mock this man, accuse him of being a heroin addict and an alcoholic and nearly allow him to die because they refused to offer the medical attention he desperately needed is repulsive and outrageous. The inhumanity they displayed to a peaceful American citizen on his way home, a tax payer, a small business owner and a veteran is beyond comprehension. Perhaps because his name is Iranian, which would have suggested he was of Middle eastern descent, they felt he deserved a beating. If so, that would add a racial element to this incident as well.
In any event its clear that the OPD is a criminal organization masquerading as a law enforcement agency. I recommend that the Governor of California call out the National Guard to protect the citizens of Oakland from their own police force.