2 New Orleans Officers Charged After Allegedly Beating Man. Victim Says He Was Called A 'Fake American'
(CNN) -- Two off-duty New Orleans police officers were arrested after allegedly assaulting a man outside a bar early Tuesday, according to the New Orleans Police Department.
The two officers involved in the incident, John Galman and Spencer Sutton, were both arrested and charged with simple battery, and termination proceedings have begun for both, police said in a statement.
The victim, Jorge Gomez, told CNN affiliate WDSU that he had been at a bar in his New Orleans neighborhood when two men began to question him over his nationality and military service.
"He told me I was a fake American," Gomez said, appearing visibly swollen with stitches on his forehead. "And that I wasn't in the National Guard either. I told him I served a tour of duty in Iraq."
It was not immediately clear which man Gomez was referring to.
He said he was attacked by the officers when he attempted to leave the bar.
The victim sustained severe injuries in the incident and was transported to an area hospital, according to NOPD. Gomez has since been released.
Galman and Sutton are 2017 graduates of the NOPD training academy, according to police.
"We don't need that kind of police officer in the city of New Orleans," Gomez told WDSU.
Evidence collected by the Public Integrity Bureau investigators, which included multiple video accounts and eyewitness statements, "clearly demonstrates that our officers were the aggressors in this incident," NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison said in a statement.
"Members of our department are expected to comply with the law and adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct, whether on- or off-duty," the statement said.
Attorney Jake Lemmon, who represents Sutton, said that there's still a lot of investigating that needs to be done.
"It's very early in the case and no conclusions can be drawn at this time based upon the lack of investigation that has happened thus far," he told CNN. "We intend to do a thorough investigation and present mitigation to the district attorney's office at the appropriate time."
CNN has reached out to Galman's attorney for comment.
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