King Vanga

WHAT: Press conference announcing the filing of state law claims against the City of Atwater and the California Highway Patrol for abusive conduct and deliberately lying in their official police report that Stanford University student King Vivek Vanga, a 20-year-old Indian American who does not drink, was intoxicated and on drugs after a fatal traffic accident.

WHERE: Atwater City Hall, 750 Bellevue Road, Atwater, CA

WHO: Attorney John Burris, King Vanga, and members of his family

WHEN: Noon, Friday, December 10, 2021

Atwater CA—At noon tomorrow, the well known civil rights attorney John Burris will announce the filing of a claim against the City of Atwater and the California Highway Patrol for deliberately lying in an official police report that Stanford University Student King Vanga was “under the influence” of alcohol and drugs when he was involved in a tragic June 25 car crash. Attorney Burris will state, “The officers convicted him on the street. In essence, the officers became the judge and jury on the street with their false police reports and media statements. He was condemned from the beginning with evidence.”

The D.O.J. recently issued a report that a blood test performed by the Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services confirmed that Mr. Vanga (who does not drink) had not consumed any alcohol. (See exhibit Link)

Attorney Burris goes on to say, “Most egregiously, while the officers were physically manhandling the dazed and confused student, an officer falsely claimed that Mr. Vanga was reaching for his gun. Additionally, after being taken to the ground and handcuffed, a C.H.P. officer arrived on the scene and assisted in taking control of Mr. Vanga. One of the C.H.P. officers boldly claimed that he smelled alcohol on Mr. Vanga’s breath and clothes. This was a deliberate lie.”

Unfortunately, the officer’s false statements in the official police report of Mr. Vanga’s intoxication were reported in numerous newspaper and television news stories. The officer’s callous lies were also used to justify the former high school valedictorian’s arrest and high bail of $400,000.

Vanga is currently an active community member, always assisting other students with their academic performance. Mr. Vanga, before this incident, had no criminal record, not even a traffic ticket.

Attorney Burris states, “Mr. Vanga, a senior student at Stanford University majoring in computer science, suffered extreme emotional distress not only because of the accident but also because of the lies made against him. The lies have severely damaged his reputation as an honest man, stellar student both in high school where he was the valedictorian of his graduating class and at Stanford University.”

Facts

On June 25, 2021, there was a horrific fatal traffic accident where two people in a car were killed, and King Vivek Vanga, “Mr. Vanga,” was injured. The allegations of this claim do not relate to the accident.

Vehicular manslaughter criminal charges are pending against Mr. Vanga. This claim relates only to how Mr. Vanga was treated after the incident by Atwater police officers and California Highway Patrol “C.H.P.” officers.

After the crash where his car flipped, Mr. Vanga escaped from the vehicle and was walking aimlessly when confronted by an Atwater police officer who commanded that he get on the ground. Mr. Vanga immediately went to the ground, but he quickly got back up; he appears disoriented and nonresponsive. The officers began yelling and shouting commands at him. When Mr. Vanga was resistive to the officers’ commands, several Atwater police “jumped” him and began hitting him with their fists about the face and body. They also tased him at least twice and appeared to be choking him as they took him to the ground.

Burris further states, “Before “jumping” Mr. Vanga, reasonably well-trained officers would have recognized that Mr. Vanga was undoubtedly in “shock” from the accident and that physical force was the wrong approach. The officers should have de-escalated the situation by trying to be helpful and not accusatory toward him.”

Read the complete press realease here.

To check the DOJ- BFS Zero Alcohol Report 1 click here

To read the DOJ-BFS Zero Alcohol Report 2 click here

To read the DOJ-BFS Zero Alcohol Report 3 click here