Baton Rouge protester says he was beaten by police
BATON ROUGE, La. -- A Louisiana man who was arrested Saturday night during a demonstration outside the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters says he was severely beaten by police officers, reports CBS affiliate WAFB.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, 24-year-old Javier Dunn and his attorney, James Williams, said Dunn was injured while being arrested on charges of obstructing a highway and resisting an officer. Dunn was taking part in a protest over the death of Alton Sterling, who was shot and killed by Baton Rouge police on July 5.
"I was scared for my life. The police officers pushed me out of the crowd using their shields. They threw me down to the ground. I was held by two officers on my back," Dunn said. "One officer stomping on my face, stomping my face into the pavement and another officer kneeling down to throw three punches to my face."
Dunn said he suffered a fractured orbital socket during the incident.
Video of the alleged beating, which took place around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, was captured by Tracy Fountain. She said she did not capture what led up to the arrest but said Dunn did not resist officers.
"It took a few seconds to kind of comprehend mentally what was really going on and that's when eventually I began to record it," Fountain added. "I did not by far record the worst part of what BRPD did to Mr. Dunn."
Williams said Dunn was not in the street at the time of his arrest, however that did not stop officers from arresting him in what he calls an overly aggressive manner. He said they have not yet determined if they will sue the police department.
"If it requires filing a lawsuit, we're going to file a lawsuit. If it requires seeking adverse action, employment action against the police officers then we're going to do that," Williams said. "We're going to do everything we can, everything available to us under the law."
The Baton Rouge Police Department has not replied to a request for comment sought by WAFB.