Violence broke out Thursday outside De Anza College’s Flint Center, when a man attending a speech by Colin Powell allegedly grabbed a student reporter’s camera and twisted a second reporter’s arm, police said.
The man was reportedly angry over the student taking photos of him and his wife, who got into a shouting match with protesters outside the auditorium. The man, who police did not identify last week, was not arrested or ticketed, Foothill-De Anza College District Police Sgt. Al Asuncion said.
The two student journalists, Chris Marks, 20, and Reza Kazempour, 23, asked the police to file charges against the man. The case has been forwarded to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office, which will decide if charges are warranted, Asuncion said.
Around 7:30 p.m., Marks and Kazempour were standing outside the Flint Center near a line of protesters when Marks heard an argument break out, Marks said.
He said he saw a middle-aged woman "screaming" at protesters, and thinking it would make a good photo, he knelt down and began snapping away.
The woman’s husband, who was more than six feet tall, stepped in front of Marks and said, "You’re not taking any pictures of my wife," Marks said.
One of the protesters attracted the man’s attention because he started yelling at them, and then I stepped back and brought my camera up to take a picture of him, Marks said. "And then he lunged for me and grabbed my camera."
The man allegedly reacted by grabbing Marks’ camera by the lens and trying to wrestle it out of his hands. Kazempour, who was standing nearby, said he got between the two, prompting the man to allegedly grab Kazempour by the wrist and twist his arm.
Police already outside the Flint Center immediately broke up the scuffle and interviewed the man, Marks and Kazempour, Asuncion said.
After being interviewed by police, the man and his wife walked into the Flint Center to attend Powell’s speech, Marks said.
When asked if he thought Marks was partly to blame for the argument, Asuncion said, "There are always different ways to avoid conflict."
"I wouldn’t want to have had my picture taken either . . . that would annoy me," said Marks, a photography student and first time La Voz reporter. "But that’s never a reason to use violence."