Before It’s News – by N. Morgan
Another beating, another state, another reason. Texas, is the state this time. The crime was a man who was camping on a beach. 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.
Tackled: A police cruise dashboard camera captured officer Jose Santos Jr holding Davis down on a Galveston beach after the man tried to flee
‘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.
Reinforcement: The footage shows officer Archie Chapman Jr approach the two men on the beach and kick Davis in the head
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.
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.
Blows: Both officers proceed to strike Davis’ head numerous times with their fists
Five on one: 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
‘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.
Under fire: Galveston Police Officer Archie Chapman, Jr, pictured with US Marshal Elizabeth Saenz, was identified in the lawsuit as the cop who first attacked Davis after his partner tackled him
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.
Of course the dash cam was grainy and hard to see. The cops can cover up their lies that way…. If there ever was even just two people on one cop it would be assault and battery with intent to injure or to do great bodily harm, which are felonies last I heard. This was five cops on one it seems – where was Davises so called freind when this police assault was going on? It did say that the cops approached two men.
MotherF**kers!! I hope every one of them cops are found dead at the bottom of the ocean.
I now look at cops as the enemy, so as it now stands, I am a FIRM believer in the advice of Lee Child’s character, ‘Jack Reacher ‘:
“Get your retaliation in first”
And since I was part of the team that trained the SEALs and BUDs in their current hand to hand combat methods……..
I get into a bullshit situation with cops (who are now obviously out of control, US-wide), where it’s soooooooooo penny-ante, the first aggressive move they make will cost them. If I don’t, I’m gonna’ get the same beating, either way.
Might as well get my retaliation in first.
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