Post by WaTcHeR on Apr 18, 2006 12:53:04 GMT -5
04/10/2006 - District Judge Ron Clark Monday started hearing opening arguments in a police brutality case involving the Beaumont Police Department.
Brenda Batiste claims that two Beaumont police officers threw her to the ground, punched her, shocked her with a taser repeatedly and continuously tightened her hand cuffs— leaving marks on her wrists back in 2004.
Batiste suffers from bipolar disorder and had a police warrant to be escorted to a mental hospital at the time of the alleged incident.
She says she was non-combative during the two hour incident; but Beaumont police say her claims don’t match the facts. They say officers’ handcuffs are designed to tighten as someone struggles, unless they are locked in place.
They go on to say the fact that she traveled to Houston to file her complaint shows the claims are without merit.
“I think [they’re not filing locally] because they know that they don’t actually have a case,” Beaumont Police Officer Crystal Holmes told Hometown News when this story first broke in July, 2004.
“We encourage anyone who has a complaint with a Beaumont officer to come here to the internal affairs division or go to the FBI because we have nothing to hide,” she continued.
Brenda Batiste claims that two Beaumont police officers threw her to the ground, punched her, shocked her with a taser repeatedly and continuously tightened her hand cuffs— leaving marks on her wrists back in 2004.
Batiste suffers from bipolar disorder and had a police warrant to be escorted to a mental hospital at the time of the alleged incident.
She says she was non-combative during the two hour incident; but Beaumont police say her claims don’t match the facts. They say officers’ handcuffs are designed to tighten as someone struggles, unless they are locked in place.
They go on to say the fact that she traveled to Houston to file her complaint shows the claims are without merit.
“I think [they’re not filing locally] because they know that they don’t actually have a case,” Beaumont Police Officer Crystal Holmes told Hometown News when this story first broke in July, 2004.
“We encourage anyone who has a complaint with a Beaumont officer to come here to the internal affairs division or go to the FBI because we have nothing to hide,” she continued.