Man Rescued From Drain Criticizes Police

CERES, Calif. (CBS13) -- The man who was pulled from a street manhole after being trapped for nearly 40 minutes sharply criticized police Saturday for releasing a photo of his compromising predicament, accusing them of ignoring his claims of an attack by gang members.

The 21-year-old man, who asked only to be identified as Jared, was photographed upside down Thursday after he became stuck halfway into a storm drain. Witnesses called authorities after hearing his cries for help, and firefighters were eventually able to pull him free with special netting equipment.

"I don't understand why Ceres Police would sit there and take pictures," Jared said. "That kind of pisses me off."

Jared told CBS13 that gang members had assaulted him and threw his phone down the drain, and when he reached for his possessions, he couldn't pull himself back out of the manhole.

The alleged attack left him disoriented and Jared said he doesn't remember being trapped.

Ceres Police Sgt. Jose Berber said they don't release pictures of crime victims, but added that Jared never told them he was attacked. He refused treatment at the scene and still hasn't filed a police report, Berber added.

"Since it's a public document and he is an adult I went ahead and released his name," Sgt. Berber said. "If we would have known from that day he was a victim of crime, we would never have released the photo or his name."

Firefighters examined Jared at the scene and didn't see any signs of injuries from an attack, authorities said.

Jared's wife told CBS13 on Friday that he was highly intoxicated during the incident, which Jared denied Saturday.