Man Beaten By Hallandale Beach Police Speaks Out, Claims Excessive Force
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HALLANDALE BEACH (CBSMiami) – A man caught on camera being beaten by Hallandale Beach police is speaking out and turning to the legal system to fight back against the officers he's accused of using excessive force.
"Once they hit me in the back of the head, it really all kind of went dizzy," said Daniel Dunkelberger, the man seen on cell phone video being beaten by two Hallandale Beach police officers on Wednesday of last week. The video was shared on social media.
"I remember being tased. But being hit on the head so many times you can only take so much," said Dunkelberger. "Everything's like healing up as we go along but emotionally you don't heal."
According to the police report, Dunkelberger had stolen a cell phone from a vehicle and when officers tried to arrest him off I-95 and Hallandale Beach Blvd, he became combative.
Dunkelberger denies having stolen anything.
"It was my friend's [cell phone]," he explained. "I was bringing it back. They reported it stolen. I didn't even have no knowledge that the cops was called."
The man who claims Dunkelberger stole his cell phone told us last week he's seen Dunkelberger in the neighborhood but did not know him.
He says police did nothing wrong by beating him.
Dunkelberger showed us the taser marks left on his body as well as the injuries he continues to recover from after being hit repeatedly with a baton.
"You see the gash," he said, pointing to his head. "I still have lumps on here which if I push on it, I still feel pain. This knee was swelled up completely at the time so the very next day, I couldn't move."
Dunkelberger's attorney says he'll be seeking $2 million and if they can't reach a settlement then he'll head to federal court.
"They violated his civil rights," said attorney Ron Guralnick. "That's a federal action so I'll be filing this in federal court if we can't agree on a fair settlement based upon my demand letter."
The city manager for Hallandale beach says they continue to review surveillance video and they will wait to hear from him before they make a comment.
The two officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.