Post by Shuftin on Jul 20, 2006 8:50:49 GMT -5
PETERSBURG -- Petersburg police officers Michael A. Tweedy and David E. House stopped a driver to question him about a hit-and-run incident.
The driver, a meat worker named Lamont Cortez Koonce, ran away but was eventually tackled and doused with pepper spray.
As Koonce was on the ground and House was trying to handcuff him, authorities said, Tweedy accidentally sprayed himself and went into a rage.
According to Koonce's attorney, Tweedy kicked and stomped on Koonce's head repeatedly, walking away and then returning to continue the blows as Koonce lay motionless, gurgling his own blood.
Koonce, now 28, suffered life-threatening injuries, including skull fractures and brain contusions. He spent two months in a coma. His attorney said Koonce suffers from post-traumatic stress.
Tweedy pleaded guilty this year to depriving Koonce of his civil rights while performing duties as a member of law enforcement. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Some of those who know Tweedy best testified at his sentencing in April that he isn't a person capable of that brutal beating.
Tweedy, now 32, was experiencing marital and financial troubles at the time, according to court testimony from his brother, his former wife and a former police supervisor. He was described as depressed and having trouble sleeping and had been accused twice earlier of overly aggressive police tactics.
It was Tweedy's low emotional state that led him to act out of character that day, said those who knew him.
But another factor could have come into play, Tweedy's attorneys said the day of his sentencing. He was using anabolic steroids.
"He had no previous criminal record," one of Tweedy's attorneys said in court. "He was suffering from emotional, physical and financial stresses. He was using steroids for a long period of time."
Researchers say anabolic steroids, widely known as drugs abused by athletes and bodybuilders, are making their way into police departments. They call the issue an under-the-radar problem that merits greater awareness by police officials.
The driver, a meat worker named Lamont Cortez Koonce, ran away but was eventually tackled and doused with pepper spray.
As Koonce was on the ground and House was trying to handcuff him, authorities said, Tweedy accidentally sprayed himself and went into a rage.
According to Koonce's attorney, Tweedy kicked and stomped on Koonce's head repeatedly, walking away and then returning to continue the blows as Koonce lay motionless, gurgling his own blood.
Koonce, now 28, suffered life-threatening injuries, including skull fractures and brain contusions. He spent two months in a coma. His attorney said Koonce suffers from post-traumatic stress.
Tweedy pleaded guilty this year to depriving Koonce of his civil rights while performing duties as a member of law enforcement. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Some of those who know Tweedy best testified at his sentencing in April that he isn't a person capable of that brutal beating.
Tweedy, now 32, was experiencing marital and financial troubles at the time, according to court testimony from his brother, his former wife and a former police supervisor. He was described as depressed and having trouble sleeping and had been accused twice earlier of overly aggressive police tactics.
It was Tweedy's low emotional state that led him to act out of character that day, said those who knew him.
But another factor could have come into play, Tweedy's attorneys said the day of his sentencing. He was using anabolic steroids.
"He had no previous criminal record," one of Tweedy's attorneys said in court. "He was suffering from emotional, physical and financial stresses. He was using steroids for a long period of time."
Researchers say anabolic steroids, widely known as drugs abused by athletes and bodybuilders, are making their way into police departments. They call the issue an under-the-radar problem that merits greater awareness by police officials.