- Police Brutality Watch

Man claims he was beaten to give up hidden bag of cocaine.
An Allentown man acknowledges he was hiding a bag of cocaine in his mouth when police arrested him. But he claims police officers had no right to physically force him to give it up. Jesse Crespo is suing Allentown police in federal court, alleging they violated his civil rights by beating him as they tried to take the cocaine. In his suit, Crespo says he was in his car one night in September 2002 when police approached him. He put a bag in his mouth containing 1.77 grams of cocaine. Officers from the vice squad tried to remove the bag by ''administering a series of stunning blows,'' according to his suit. Officer David Patino allegedly struck Crespo in the mouth repeatedly while other officers subdued Crespo. They also allegedly beat him with their hands, causing him to fear for his safety. He eventually relinquished the bag. Crespo, who is black and Hispanic, alleges that racial prejudice motivated the conduct of the officers, who called him by racial slurs. He suffered a permanent injury to his left eye and has headaches and double vision. He also was bruised and scraped and missed work for several weeks. Police charged him with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence and resisting arrest. Crespo, 20, alleges that Patino filed the resisting arrest charge, without a legal basis, to shield himself from liability for beating Crespo. Patino later gave false testimony about the resisting arrest charge, according to the suit. [more]