KDKA Exclusive: Second Police Incident Caught On Camera
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A video shows Eddie Lojak this past Saturday -- his nose is broken, he has a concussion, a broken rib, chipped teeth, stitches across his face and a chunk of skin ripped from his tongue.
Those injuries happened after a morning of drinking to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and ended with a run-in with Pittsburgh Police.
"Cops came up behind me and shoved me down as hard as he could," Lojak said. "Face first onto the pavement and then they all jumped on me."
That's where the cell phone video picks up the incident. It shows a police officer striking Lojak twice, while three other police officers held him down.
- WATCH: Police incident caught on camera:
"When he pushed me from behind so hard and I hit and I skidded," he said. "I just felt myself drag across the pavement. I just laid there motionless."
The incident happened at Station Square about 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Lojak's friend was kicked out of the bar and was later charged with defiant trespass.
Sources confirm Lojak was intoxicated, his blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit.
Sources say Lojak's friend was on the ground, already under arrest and that Lojak approached his friend -- and police -- in what they call an "aggressive manner," with his "fists clenched."
Lojak says he was just trying to talk to his friend.
Sources confirm a Pittsburgh Police officer then "tackled Lojak to the ground" and that's when he sustained the facial injuries.
"I was drinking with my friends," Lojak said.
- Watch Marty Griffin's report:
When asked if he was drunk, Lojak said, "I was probably intoxicated, I don't know how much."
Regarding the cell phone video and the body blows, police sources describe them as a compliance technique used by police officers attempting to handcuff suspects.
Lojak says he wasn't combative, loud or resisting arrest.
Along with dealing with extensive medical bills, a lot of pain and a long period of recovery, Lojak will face a number of charges including public intoxication, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and drug possession.
"I'm more shocked than anybody," Lojak said. "Really didn't know how to go about it, or what to do just yet."
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Mike Huss is aware of the photographs, aware of the incident and confirms the police department has launched an internal affairs investigation of the incident today.
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