Homewood Teen Claims Police Brutality

HOMEWOOD, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama teenager has filed suit
claiming he was roughed up by police after cheering for a friend
during a graduation ceremony for Homewood High School.
      Dane Palmgren contends he suffered permanent injuries and
emotional distress after being restrained, hit, elbowed and choked
by police at Homewood's graduation ceremony in 2008.
      An attorney for Palmgren, Wendy Brooks Crew, said Tuesday the
19-year-old Palmgren was invited to the ceremony by a friend. She
says he cheered and waved from the balcony when his friend's name
was called.
      Homewood's school superintendent, Bill Cleveland, said the
ceremony was interrupted by conduct that he called "rude,
persistent and inexcusable."
      Palmgren's suit names the city of Homewood and school officials.
It seeks an unspecified amount of money.
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