New Haven Club Tasing Started With Cell Phone

Jordan Jefferson and Zachary Fuhrer were ordered to stay off their cell phones. They disobeyed that command, drawing the ire of police who had raided a private party at a downtown nightclub. Then it got personal. Fists were clenched, and a Taser came out.

Jefferson and Fuhrer ended up in handcuffs. Jefferson, a 6’ 3” football player, was Tased twice and subdued by multiple officers, then taken to the hospital.

That version of events is included in newly released police reports about the arrest of two Yale students during a police action in the Elevate lounge on College Street, where Yale students were holding a private party on Oct. 2. Police said they received a report that the bar was overcrowded and sent in a group of officers, including two in SWAT gear, to check on underage drinking. The cops ordered everyone to put their phones away as police checked IDs and counted occupants. The raid was part of “Operation Nightlife,” a crackdown on the downtown club district; it led to charges of police misconduct that have attracted national attention and prompted an internal police investigation.

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