VIDEO: A man who was seriously injured by two off-duty Los Angeles firefighters who beat and choked him on Halloween night in 2015 has been awarded more than $7 million.
After being falsely accused of giving children drug-laced candy, Samuel Chang was held down and choked. Cellphone video captured the firefighters and other party-goers harassing Chang and telling him he came to the wrong place to give out his candy.
Chang, then a 23-year-old college student, was handing out candy in the Chatsworth neighborhood where his grandmother lived.
He was chased down and a neighbor’s video shows, Chang ends up on the ground, Eric Carpenter – dressed as He-Man – is shown holding him down in a headlock. Another off-duty firefighter, is also shown restraining him.
Chang is heard pleading for the men to stop. A police report said Chang suffered severe head and kidney injuries.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged the firefighters and another neighbor with felony assault. But when the case got to court, Carpenter and the others were allowed to plead no contest to a misdemeanor.
Both firefighters were put on leave and ended up with a six-month suspension without pay.