A Texas man has filed a lawsuit against the Galveston Police Department, claiming that officers savagely beat him and forced his head underwater while he was sleeping on a beach.
Reginald Deon Davis, 34, filed the federal lawsuit Monday accusing the City of Galveston of failing to properly train its police officers.
According to the court documents cited by the Courthouse News Service, the incident happened March 19 while Davis was napping in his car on the Galveston seawall.
The suit details how Davis traveled to Galveston the night before to attend a friend's birthday party. Afterwards, the 34-year-old went to a local Denny's restaurant to study for a college exam the next morning.
'Shortly after departing Denny's to go back to his home in La Marque, Mr. Davis realized he was extremely exhausted and decided to pull his car over on the seawall and rest before driving home,' the federal lawsuit reads.
Davis called his wife to let her know he will be home later than expected, and then he dozed off, allegedly unaware that sleeping in a car parked on the seawall is illegal without a camping permit.
At around 1.45am, the 34-year-old man was allegedly awakened by officer Jose Santos Jr, who asked Davis to get out of his vehicle and place his hands on the hood of the police cruiser.
Instead, Davis ran onto the beach, where he was Tasered in the back and tackled by Santos.
A dashboard camera recorded the incident, showing the 34-year-old man lying face down in the sand with the officer on top of him.
A moment later, the grainy footage shows another officer, identified as Archie Chapman Jr, approach the two men on the beach and allegedly kick Davis in the head multiple times.
Then, both officers proceed to strike Mr. Davis' head numerous times with their fists, according to the complaint.
‘Mr. Davis does not appear to resist until it becomes clear that he is in fear of drowning. In fact, during this entire incident, Mr. Davis can be heard yelling, “I can't breathe” and “You're trying to drown me,”’ the suit goes on to say.
Santos, Chapman and three other officers who arrived on the scene allegedly continued beating the suspect as he lay in the surf and 'forcibly submerged' his head in the tide while kicking him.
In response to the lawsuit seeking damages to be determined by a jury, Galveston Police Chef Henry Porretto told the Houston Chronicle that the plaintiff has a criminal history that includes two drug convictions, and he was possibly facing a third one when he was apprehended by police in March.
According to Porretto, the 34-year-old suspect was seen by officers grabbing something from the seat of his car and stuffing the item into his pocket before attempting to flee the responding officers.
An internal investigation into allegations of police brutally determined that the Galveston officers used necessary force during Davis' arrest, Porretto said.
The lawsuit states that Davis suffered injuries to his arm, neck, shoulders and back, and has continued to experience difficulty sleeping due to headaches caused by a concussion.
The complaint states that the local police department has a long history of brutality, with more than 54 complaints pending against the agency since 2005.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2392394/Man-illegally-camping-Texas-beach-brutally-beaten-cops-held-underwater-dashboard-camera-rolled.html#ixzz2rMqZQBix
At around 1.45am, the 34-year-old man was allegedly awakened by officer Jose Santos Jr, who asked Davis to get out of his vehicle and place his hands on the hood of the police cruiser.
Instead, Davis ran onto the beach, where he was Tasered in the back and tackled by Santos.
A dashboard camera recorded the incident, showing the 34-year-old man lying face down in the sand with the officer on top of him.
A moment later, the grainy footage shows another officer, identified as Archie Chapman Jr, approach the two men on the beach and allegedly kick Davis in the head multiple times.
Then, both officers proceed to strike Mr. Davis' head numerous times with their fists, according to the complaint.
‘Mr. Davis does not appear to resist until it becomes clear that he is in fear of drowning. In fact, during this entire incident, Mr. Davis can be heard yelling, “I can't breathe” and “You're trying to drown me,”’ the suit goes on to say.
Santos, Chapman and three other officers who arrived on the scene allegedly continued beating the suspect as he lay in the surf and 'forcibly submerged' his head in the tide while kicking him.
In response to the lawsuit seeking damages to be determined by a jury, Galveston Police Chef Henry Porretto told the Houston Chronicle that the plaintiff has a criminal history that includes two drug convictions, and he was possibly facing a third one when he was apprehended by police in March.
According to Porretto, the 34-year-old suspect was seen by officers grabbing something from the seat of his car and stuffing the item into his pocket before attempting to flee the responding officers.
An internal investigation into allegations of police brutally determined that the Galveston officers used necessary force during Davis' arrest, Porretto said.
The lawsuit states that Davis suffered injuries to his arm, neck, shoulders and back, and has continued to experience difficulty sleeping due to headaches caused by a concussion.
The complaint states that the local police department has a long history of brutality, with more than 54 complaints pending against the agency since 2005.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2392394/Man-illegally-camping-Texas-beach-brutally-beaten-cops-held-underwater-dashboard-camera-rolled.html#ixzz2rMqZQBix
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