Victim Speaks Out In Alleged Officer Beating
MIAMI (CBS4) -- Officials in the Miami Police Department have launched an internal investigation after a violent video allegedly involving officers was posted on YouTube.
Since CBS4 aired it's first report, two Miami police officers involved in the incident have been reassigned to desk duties. Their police powers have been suspended and they had to turn in their guns and badges pending the outcome of the internal investigation, according to Miami PD's Delrish Moss.
In the video, you can see an officer repeatedly punching someone who is on the floor. A crowd forms and you can hear people yelling, "that's on video! That's on video!"
It was Halloween night in Coconut Grove, a well-known Halloween hot spot. The officers who are in the video are with the City of Miami Police Department.
"It's a very difficult video to see," said Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, who did not see the video until CBS4 News showed it to him.
In fact, Mayor Regalado says nobody told him about the incident on Halloween night.
"Absolutely not. Nobody, and they should have," he said.
"We normally do not discuss internal investigations with the mayor," said Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito, who said he had not seen the video until CBS4 began asking questions.
"This video was brought to us by one of the local news media. We had no idea that it existed," said Chief Exposito.
"I was pretty shocked," said Stephen Murray, an elected member of the Coconut Grove Village Council.
Murray also just found out about the video after hearing a friend talk about it.
"It's almost two weeks after Halloween and no one has been talking about it," said Murray.
"Of course I've spoken to the police chief, I've spoken to internal affairs, we're looking into it. Internal affairs is looking into it to find out what happened on that scene and why," said Delrish Moss of the City of Miami Police Department.
"Obviously, it's an open internal affairs investigation at this point so there is not a whole lot I can lawfully say about it," said Moss.
"This reflects poorly on the hundreds of officers who use restraint and serve the city every day," said Murray.
That is why Mayor Regalado wants a full investigation into what happened before the camera started rolling.
"What you see makes you wonder if the police officer went beyond the call of duty," said Mayor Regalado.
"I don't think the mayor was out here while this was going on," said Miami Police Sergeant Javier Ortiz, who was working off-duty detail that night in CocoWalk.
Sgt. Ortiz says the crowd was chaotic and dangerous. He says 28 people were arrested that night, which is more than last year.
"They're intoxicated, they're throwing glass bottles at you, and they're absolutely not following any police orders. You have to do whatever you have to do to get home at the end of the day," said Sgt. Ortiz. "From looking at the video, I believe the officers acted within the law. I saw absolutely nothing wrong with what they did. I would have done the same exact thing."
On Friday, CBS4 News spoke with a young man who asked us not to identify him because he is afraid of retaliation. He was one of the people arrested in Coconut Grove that night and can be seen in the YouTube video.
"Everytime I see a police right now, I get scared. I was extremely scared to do this interview," he said. "I was just in the crowd and when the fight starts, I was in the middle of the fight."
