
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 3, 1991                   TAG: 9104030579
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NORFOLK                                LENGTH: Medium

CASE OF GREEKFEST BEATING OPENS IN VA. BEACH COURT

A man who contends he was beaten by a Virginia Beach police officer during the 1989 Labor Day riots was the victim of an atmosphere of hostility to young blacks visiting the resort city, the man's lawyer says.

The city and Police Chief Charles R. Wall adopted a "get-tough" policy toward visitors attending the celebration known as Greekfest to create an unwelcome environment "so they would not want to ever return to the city of Virginia Beach," the lawyer, Bernard Holmes, said Tuesday in opening arguments of his client's $8 million lawsuit.

The city and Wall "did not want the young black celebrants at the beachfront anymore," said Holmes, who represents Melvin Moore of Hampton.

Moore, who is black, contends he was beaten by an officer, identified only as "John Doe," when he was arrested early on the morning of Sept. 3, 1989, near an oceanfront store that had been looted.

The Labor Day weekend usually draws thousands of college-age blacks for an informal end-of-summer celebration. The 1989 holiday was marred by riots and looting that caused $1.4 million in damage.

Moore, who was just two weeks away from entering the Navy when he was arrested by a private security guard, said an officer came out of the crowd after he had been handcuffed by the guard and struck him in the head with a riot baton.

The guard, Bryon Fritz, told the jury of six whites and two blacks that the evidence will show that no officer struck Moore.

Richard J. Beaver, the attorney for the city, said the police chief was trying to prevent an "us vs. them" attitude from developing among officers who faced crowds that were much larger than had been expected.

The trial is scheduled for three weeks in federal court.

After his arrest, Moore was convicted by a Virginia Beach Circuit Court jury of burglary and larceny. But the convictions were overturned after a newspaper investigation disclosed that Fritz had lied during Moore's trial.

In his lawsuit, Moore alleged numerous civil rights violations and a coverup to protect the officer who beat him. The defendants in the suit include the city, Wall, the unidentified officer and Fritz.

The lawsuit originally sought $1 million, $750,000 in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages. Holmes said Tuesday night that the suit was amended in February to seek $3 million compensatory damages and $5 million punitive damages.

by CNB