Early on Saturday morning a GSU officer on motorbike was knocked down on North Front Street while on duty. That apparently sent the hard charging unit into high alert mode - as they looked for the culprit - reported to be driving a pickup. The led them to pull over Allan McCoy, a mechanic who was leaving MJ's nightclub on West Collet Canal. He first saw an unmarked vehicle pull up - and he thought someone was trying to rob him. But it was the GSU - and he says they later fired shots in the air as he was trying to escape. They eventually forced him to pull over - and he told the media today that's when they put a beating on him. He explained the encounter in detail to us:
Allan McCoy, Claims Police Brutality
"Two of them grabbed me and threw me to the ground and handcuffed me; one of them put his knee in my back, on my shoulder blade and the other one or the same one, slap me on the back of my head and I told them that this is uncalled for because I am not resisting arrest in any way. Anyway, they ask where I was coming. They said, you know what you just did and I said no, please explain to me what you are arresting me for because as far as I am concern I was at MJ's bar and I've been there all night and I have proof and if you want to know just go over there. They took me back to an accident scene. On the ride over there, the two officers; a male and a female, two of the assaulted me several times in the back of the truck. The officer was in the back of the pick-up truck with me all the while, he got back in the truck and he started to punch me in my belly and in my ribcage. He punched me a few times in my head and in my face, but the one that got me upset was the one that punch me in my face. When they finished their first wave of assault they had on me with those officer, several of the GSU's came on the scene one by one and they started to hit me in my face, everyone took their turn. When the second wave started again the same officer who was beating me the first time, he jumped in and started to beat me up again. By this time one of the officer had already punched me in my face and it cut underneath my eyes and swollen up my entire face side. Then the female GSU took out a long rod and started to strike me in my chest like I was a fish - with a metal rod you are striking me in my chest, which really hurts."
"Mark Flowers came on the scene and because I know his face, I know him from Facebook, I said Mr. Flowers, this what you are doing is wrong. I told him come on, I am not a criminal and you guys supposed to know who I am. I told him that I recently worked on a vehicle for you. He said shut, I know it's you, you don't need to tell a lie, we already know it's you, we are watching you. I told him that you guys have the wrong person. I saw him approach me from the back coming at an angle and when he reaches behind me he slaps me in my head. I spun around and I saw that the person who slap me was the only person standing behind me with his hands still in the air was Mark Flowers. So I can tell you all and everybody out there that Mark Flowers condones abuse and violence by the GSU. The female officer even told me while she was assaulting me that I must tell her the truth, tell her that I did it, if not they will kill me. She said that we will kill you if you don't tell us that you did it and I told them if you all want to kill me, go ahead because all you all will be doing is killing an innocent person, I have nothing to do with this. I said you all are accusing me wrongfully. She said that you will die tonight."
"A little after that police officers came on the scene and that is when everything stopped. When the officer came, he ask me if my face was due to the accident. I told no, it is compliments of the GSU, so he ask me why and I explain to him and I told him where I was and ask him if he could please go and verify my story before. So he went over and he verified it, he said I got your story from the owner, from the security that everybody says that you had just left from there. All that confirmed to me that everything for that night was bogus and the GSU acted irresponsible. These guys literally took the law into their own hands, became judge, jury and executioner and at the end of the day it is me that suffers."
"Up to yesterday my whole face was swollen up, probably you could see that it's still swollen. I have some bruises over here. My chest up to yesterday hurts. I can't sleep at night because I have these injuries. I also have an injury in my back; when I lie down on my back it hurts. This is inhumane. This is dictatorship. What you all are doing. What kind of country we are living in? This is a barbaric action. They don't realize that when they go out there and abuse people, that's what they are doing. These people on the streets know about violence and you are bringing back violence - you are not teaching anything new. You are teaching them the same violence that they already knows."
We tried contacting the Commander of the GSU, Inspector Mark Flowers but he did not respond to our requests for comment on the complaint generally and the specific allegation against him.
McCoy has made official complaints to the Ombudsman, and the police professional standards bureau. He says he plans to sue the police department.
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