GARDENA POLICE ACCUSED OF BRUTALITY

GARDENA, Calif. (KTLA) -- The Gardena Police Department is under scrutiny for an alleged case of police brutality involving an African-American motorist.


24-year-old Perry Alexander now faces felony charges for resisting arrest and assault on a police officer.
The incident happened off Redondo Beach Boulevard in Gardena around 3:30 a.m. on March 16.
Police questioned Alexander because he was illegally double parked.


Alexander insists he cooperated with police.


"In this case, they have charged the wrong person with the crime," Alexander's attorney, Alison Triessl, told KTLA.


Triessl says three Gardena police officers brutally assaulted Alexander.


The beating was caught on camera. Alexander's girlfriend also says she witnessed the incident.


"His entire shirt was drenched in blood," she told KTLA. "I saw him when he was transferred from one police car to another, and his face was really swollen, his eyes were swollen [and] he had a really big knot in the middle of his head."


Alexander has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.


"They know what they did," he told KTLA. Just be honest, please."


"It is the police whose conduct needs to be criminally scrutinized, not Mr. Alexander," Triessl said. "He has done nothing wrong."


The Gardena Police Department has issued a statement saying: "... we believe that our officers acted appropriately given the actions of Mr. Alexander, and we expect that the criminal case will result in Mr. Alexander being held responsible for his actions."


KTLA spoke to Gardena Police Chief Edward Medrano, who said the department has completed a use of force investigation, as is standard protocol.


Medrano also said the investigation was completed before the videotape of the incident was viewed.


"Our officers wrote the report prior to any videotape being viewed," Medrano said.


"In fact, they had no knowledge of the videotape that was produced by Mr. Alexander when they wrote their report. And what shows on that videotape is consistent with what they wrote on their report. We have nothing to hide" - 28 October 2011.