Justin Richardson was a 17-year-old high school student when the Black teen was brutally assaulted by a school resource officer in California last year who accused him of trespassing, slamming him to the ground, and injuring him, according to a lawsuit filed last week.
But Richardson, who was attending a weekly therapy session at Berkeley High School, was authorized to be on campus that day, March 4, 2025.
Lino Guananja, the Berkeley Unified school resource officer who confronted him, is accused of forcing the teen to a side exit where he knew he would not be recorded and continuing to abuse him, the complaint states.
Guananja then called for backup, prompting several more Berkeley police officers to join the assault, according to witnesses, including a teacher who had attended the required therapy session…