De Anza student arrested and taken to hospital

A De Anza student was arrested in the L Quad and then taken to a Valley Medical Center Thursday, May 3 around 4 p.m. Foothill-De Anza Police received a call about an unresponsive student and responded, Police Sgt. Jeff Ricketts said.

When being taken away to an ambulance, he asked bystanders, “Can you keep videotaping me in case they shoot me?”

Kunal Mehta
Officers hold the handcuffed student down and prepare to search him.

“I haven’t verified this, but I heard him saying that somebody gave him something to drink in the smoking area,” Ricketts said. “There was contraband found [in the student’s bag], but it has not been tested.”

The officers suspected the substance might have been methamphetamine or ecstasy, but still needed to test it. The student appeared agitated when police were speaking with him.

Four officers and a supervisor responded to the call. The student tried to run from officers before they caught him, brought him to the ground, and handcuffed him.

While being arrested, he said, “Can you just stop? I’m so sorry, I’m just a student.”

Kunal Mehta
Paramedics help the student get on a stretcher while still handcuffed as others watch on.

The student appeared to resist as officers had him stand up and pushed him against a railing while trying to search him. They then placed him against the ground and began emptying his pockets while he protested.

“I don’t have anything on me, no alcohol. I have nothing on me,” he said.

Paramedics arrived and began speaking to him while the police stepped back. After strapping him into a stretcher with restraints, police uncuffed him.

Ricketts said they will write a report for the Dean of Students and the District Attorney.