All this week we've been reporting on the spike in southside crime - where we saw three murders in one week. Southside Commander Chester Williams is quick to point out that the murder figure for the southside is still 8 fewer than it was at this time last year, but he also acknowledges that police have to curb the gang activity that's spurring the violence. And so last night just as news was starting, it seems some kind of operation was launched. We know this because our phones here at 7News started ringing off the hook from the Yabra and East Canal areas where residents say the GSU descended on those neighborhoods with great fury. Daniel Ortiz has the story:...
Daniel Ortiz reporting
Chaos was unleashed when the GSU descended on the Yabra Area last night. While a few officers stood guard, others mercilessly beat down as many as 6 men.
But what's strange is no one was arrested, no one detained: the police truck rolled off and left its victims on the ground.
This cell phone footage shows two of them literally knocked out and family members trying to revive them.
That's similar to what happened at Wax House on East Canal Street, not too far from our Channel 7 studio. We met a group of men at the hospital who say that the GSU barged in on them with brute force and violence. We found them at the KHMH, and about 8 out of the 10, still upset, came out to vent their frustration.
We saw wounds like this one, bruises on this man's arm, and the long bruises on his back.
His friend had his own set of bruises. This man's lip was split, and so did this man.
This man had an open and the open wound on his chin, which left his shirt bloodstained.
His friends say that you could still see the footprint his back from where he was kicked by a GSU officer.
This man's chin was also still bleeding, and he was trying to stem the flow.
Each of these men say that these injuries were inflicted by the GSU:
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #1
"They came in and ask where is the weed. They pull me and my friend down from the verandah and started to beat me down with flashlight and baton and continuously kicking me."
Daniel Ortiz
"All of these are...?"
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #1
"They put me in an ants nest and kick up the ant nest and put me to lay down in there. Nobody did ran anywhere, everyone stand up right there."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #2
"Watch that, bruise, burst mouth, kick in my face - all kind of things. We are looking for a lawsuit action we want. This will not work."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #3
"The men stomp my face on the ground. They beat me up bad."
Daniel Ortiz
"Is that your blood on your shirt?"
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #3
"Yes, all my blood this. They beat us bad."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #4
"They whop me with plywood that are cut in strips and baton. They came with guns in our face. They beat everyone down. They let us know that all of us would be dead back here, but because a lot of people were there, they didn't do it."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #5
"They deal with me stiff. They knock me out and then they kick me in my face. I barely can speak. My jaw is hurting me. They ran up in my place and put a gun on me and told me to get down. After that they started to kick me. They took one of my friend and threw him about and kick me in my ribs, in my head and I lost consciousness. I gain consciousness and they kick me down and burst my face and my chin."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #6
"My whole batty - I can't show. My whole batty have bruise blood because they whop me about 30 times and kick me, punch me in my face - tell me that they will kill me and my friend for nothing."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #5
"They just walk out of our yard after that and laugh and say good night. They take us real likely, after they bruise us and chance us."
As you heard, these men say that after the officers doled out the beatdown, they left without detaining any of them for any crime.
They suspect that this was the police's way of applying pressure for the recent spike in City crime, which their friend, Johan Cocom, fell victim to.
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #1
"Our friend was just killed down the lane and the GSU came and beat us down."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #2
"How will we kill innocent? He is our own that we loss last night."
Daniel Ortiz
"Who are you talking about? The young man?"
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #2
"Yes, now they want to take action and beat us down, talking about how we are killing innocent - what happened to them now?"
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #1
"They are talking about how we are killing people. Right down the lane in my back yard, they just kill somebody last night. How will we have anything to do with the killing?"
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #2
"On my birthday. What kind of birthday gift is that to give me? They came and beat us down and talk about we killing the innocent."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #6
"There were 10 of us and about 50 GSU in 4 trucks. 50 men stomping us in the sand and kick us in our mouth and whop us and expect us to be humble. We are not criminal people. They chance us like that. I can't even breathe. Whenever I move my hand I feel my chest cramp. Why did they did this to us? Find the person who killed our friend last night, that's all I got to say."
Upset and outraged, these men say that they will do the only thing they can, which is to bring a lawsuit against the GSU.
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #1
"We will sue them, because this will not happen to us anymore again. We will show them."
Voice of: Alleged Police Brutality Victim #2
"That can't work. We will file a lawsuit."
Email
Print