San Diego 11-02-2007
As proposals for banning alcohol on San Diego beaches come before the City Council on Monday, disturbing videotape of an alcohol-fueled beating near the Ocean Beach Pier two months ago has surfaced in a criminal case.
The sequence was recorded by Julie Klein, an Ocean Beach woman who was on the pier videotaping her son surfing when the beating occurred.

Klein is an activist with SafeBeaches.org, a coalition of some 500 beach area residents and merchants who favor a year-round alcohol ban on San Diego Beaches.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Julie Klein can be heard screaming on tape, as her camera rolls on the attack. "What is with you? Oh my God! … You guys are sick."

Klein told that he assault involved a rowdy crowd that had been drinking all afternoon under the pier.
The beating took place at about 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 4, the day after the notorious Labor Day rioting at Pacific Beach.

The victim is an Ocean Beach man whom Klein describes as "challenged." During the incident, he is confronted by a man who knocks him down and takes away his bicycle. The bike was then taken south on the boardwalk by a female onlooker.

The man was then repeatedly punched, jumped on with both feet and kicked in the head by other assailants.

Klein called 911 during the attack. Eventually, police arrived and interceded. The victim was hospitalized for a lengthy period with serious injuries.

Klein’s footage is now evidence in a case against seven suspects, all of whom are still behind bars in lieu of bail, pending a preliminary hearing.