Man arrested in Merced hookah lounge melee speaks publicly. Says police used ‘N-word’

One of the men charged with crimes related to last year’s fight between Merced police officers and college students spoke publicly about the arrest.

UC Merced engineering graduate Isa Bey was one of the speakers at the event that brought rapper, actor and activist Common to Merced on Friday evening.

Bey, along one of his brothers and a cousin, have been charged in connection with an incident that took place July 9, 2017, inside the former Chandelier’s Hookah Lounge on Main Street, where police clashed with a party of mostly black college students. All three have pleaded not guilty.

Bey recalled talking to his friends about what happened and asking them if race was a factor. Party-goers have said at least one officer used the N-word during a scuffle, while officers say they handled the situation properly.

“I said, ‘Why you think it could’ve been racial?’ “ he said, recalling the conversation. “They said, ‘Well I’ve never seen a group of white kids get called the N-word before, but maybe I just don’t get out enough. Maybe.‘ ”

The sarcastic line elicited some laughter from the crowd.

There’s no evidence that any officer used the N-word, according to Merced Police Capt. Bimley West. That sort of language is “something we wouldn’t tolerate at all,” he said.

“We checked all the videos (of) the officers that were there,” West said. “Nothing like that came over the video.”

A number of people spoke and performed at the event that covered education and prison reform.

Bey told the crowd he was speaking out for people of color who are mistreated by police and don’t have the platform he was given. He addressed the ongoing court case.

“A plea deal is in the works, but we won’t take a slap on our wrists for the mistakes of trained professionals,” he said. “There needs to be accountability for authority.”

No formal plea deal has been offered to the men arrested at the hookah lounge, according to Rob Carroll, Merced County chief deputy district attorney.

Police have said they were at the lounge because they believed a 23-year-old robbery suspect was inside. He was apparently not there when police arrived.

The police and party-goers tell two different stories of what happened. People at the party say police were aggressive and instigated a conflict, while officers say it was the students that escalated the situation.

The three men charged with crimes are set to appear in court on Nov. 19.

*This story has been corrected from an earlier version.

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 4:24 PM.