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US military acknowledges 'mistake' in US civilian's arrest on Okinawa street
Stars and Stripes · 2025-12-11
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US military acknowledges ‘mistake’ in US civilian’s arrest on Okinawa street
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U.S. military police on a joint patrol of Gate 2 Street in Okinawa city, Okinawa, Japan, on Dec. 6, 2025. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
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<p>By <a href="https://www.stripes.com/by/brian-mcelhiney1">BRIAN MCELHINEY</a> <br> STARS AND STRIPES</p><p class="date js-article-date-info"
data-published="2025-12-12T02:22:02.000Z"
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<span class="js-article-published-time">Published December 12, 2025</span><span class="js-article-updated-separator" style="display: none;"> ·</span>
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<!-- No template found for "byline" type story element. --><p class="storyline-p">CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — U.S. Forces Japan has acknowledged that military police on patrol on an Okinawa street made a “mistake” when they aggressively detained a U.S. civilian last month <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-12-02/okinawa-patrol-civilian-body-slam-19952738.html"
target="_blank">in an incident captured on video</a> that went viral.</p>
<p class="storyline-p">Two videos posted online show a U.S. military police officer lifting and <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-12-02/okinawa-patrol-civilian-body-slam-19952738.html"
target="_blank">slamming Kareem El to the pavement</a> along Gate 2 Street in Okinawa city early Nov. 22. The incident ignited a social media backlash.</p>
<p class="storyline-p">“While the investigation is still ongoing, it is clear that the detention of Mr. El was a mistake on the part of the patrol, who approached him solely because they believed he was a U.S. servicemember,” USFJ spokesman Col. John Severns wrote in an email to Stars and Stripes on Friday.</p>
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</script> </div><p class="storyline-p">The Washington Post first reported Severns’ statement on Thursday in Washington, where El is from. El has said he was on Okinawa on a business trip.</p>
<p class="storyline-p">USFJ commander Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-11-26/okinawa-military-police-usfj-facebook-video-19892357.html"
target="_blank">halted unilateral patrols by the U.S. military</a> on Okinawa<b> </b>and ordered an investigation into the incident, Severns said by email Nov. 26. El is not connected to the military and was detained by a liberty patrol consisting only of U.S. military police, Severns said.</p>
<p class="storyline-p">U.S. military police continue joint patrols in Okinawa city with Okinawa Prefectural Police, most recently on Dec. 6 on Gate 2 Street, a popular nightlife district outside Kadena Air Base.</p>
<p class="storyline-p">USFJ instituted the joint patrols in April <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-11-05/okinawa-nightlife-patrols-arrests-19660257.html"
target="_blank">to enforce an order prohibiting</a> service members from drinking alcohol off base between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. The order stemmed in part from <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-05-02/protest-letters-okinawa-sexual-assault-17653588.html"
target="_blank">a rash of sexual assault allegations</a> that arose in December 2023 and have <a href="https://www.stripes.com/branches/marine_corps/2025-06-24/jamel-clayton-trial-okinawa-sexual-assault-18223087.html"
target="_blank">so far yielded two convictions</a>.</p>
<p class="storyline-p">The U.S. military began its own patrols in September in Okinawa city and in November in Chatan town and Naha city, Okinawa’s capital.</p>
<p class="storyline-p">El, 32 and a former Marine captain, told Stars and Stripes in an interview Nov. 28 that he was detained without provocation in front of Star Bar around 2 a.m. on Nov. 22.</p>
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</script> </div><p class="storyline-p">Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing El, in a statement Nov. 29 said he suffered a head injury, wrist lacerations, cuts and abrasions and “significant psychological trauma.”</p>
<p class="storyline-p">In a Dec. 4 video call with Merritt and Stars and Stripes, El said he was <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-12-02/okinawa-patrol-civilian-body-slam-19952738.html"
target="_blank">dropped from three feet onto concrete</a>, injuring his face and the left side of his body. He said the slam injured his knees, and his wrists were lacerated from being handcuffed.</p>
<p class="storyline-p">Merritt said his office has opened its own investigation and is exploring possible civil claims against the individual police officers involved in the incident and the U.S. military. </p>
<p class="storyline-p">Merritt said he has spoken<b> </b>to U.S. and Japanese citizens who claim to “have suffered similar injuries or harassment.” He did not say how many he interviewed.</p>
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<section class="author-block"><div class="author"><img alt="Brian McElhiney headshot" title="Brian McElhiney headshot" loading="lazy" src="https://www.stripes.com/incoming/uociu-251216_headshots_1_brian_mcelhiney.jpg/alternates/SQUARE_100/251216_Headshots_1_Brian_McElhiney.jpg" class="headshot"><div class="author-details"><p class="author-bio"><a href="https://www.stripes.com/by/brian-mcelhiney1" rel="noopener">Brian McElhiney</a> is a reporter for Stars and Stripes based in Okinawa, Japan. He has worked as a music reporter and editor for publications in New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Oregon. One of his earliest journalistic inspirations came from reading Stars and Stripes as a kid growing up in Okinawa.</p><div class="author-bio-links"><a class="author-bio-link" href="mailto:mcelhiney.brian@stripes.com" title="Email" aria-label="Email Brian McElhiney">
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<p id="previous_coverage" class="section_title">PREVIOUS COVERAGE</p><ul><li>
<p><a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-12-02/okinawa-patrol-civilian-body-slam-19952738.html">‘Suplexed to the ground’: Civilian says violent military police arrest on Okinawa was unprovoked</a></p><a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-12-02/okinawa-patrol-civilian-body-slam-19952738.html"><img src="https://www.stripes.com/incoming/rd1m57-031225civilian-arrestphoto01.jpg/alternates/LANDSCAPE_290/031225CIVILIAN-ARRESTphoto01.jpg" alt="In this screenshot from a security video, Kareem El, second from right, speaks with a security forces airman outside of a bar." title="‘Suplexed to the ground’: Civilian says violent military police arrest on Okinawa was unprovoked"></a></li><li>
<p><a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-11-28/chatan-okinawa-us-military-police-el-video-19910650.html">Okinawa officials urge caution as arrest video spurs review of military street patrols </a></p><a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-11-28/chatan-okinawa-us-military-police-el-video-19910650.html"><img src="https://www.stripes.com/incoming/j7h1y7-011225oki-mayorsphoto01.jpg/alternates/LANDSCAPE_290/011225OKI-MAYORSphoto01.jpg" alt="U.S. military police patrol a street on Okinawa." title="Okinawa officials urge caution as arrest video spurs review of military street patrols "></a></li><li>
<p><a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-11-26/okinawa-military-police-usfj-facebook-video-19892357.html">US military pauses solo patrols on Okinawa after viral video of civilian’s arrest</a></p><a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-11-26/okinawa-military-police-usfj-facebook-video-19892357.html"><img src="https://www.stripes.com/incoming/dpj1qk-271125oki-patrolsphoto01.jpg/alternates/LANDSCAPE_290/271125OKI-PATROLSphoto01.jpg" alt="US military pauses solo patrols on Okinawa after viral video of civilian’s arrest" title="US military pauses solo patrols on Okinawa after viral video of civilian’s arrest"></a></li></ul></section> <section class="videos-block" aria-labelledby="stars_and_stripes_videos">
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