The Texas Rangers have officially launched an investigation into an alleged case of police brutality, which left a Cherokee County man with a broken ankle. Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth said he has asked Texas Ranger Rudy Flores to conduct an investigation into the allegations made by John Brown, of Alto after the man reported he had been the victim of brutality at the hands of a veteran Cherokee County sheriff's deputy. Beckworth said his office asked Flores to investigate the allegations after Brown and witnesses made statements to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Brown called the FBI. Brown, 27, said he was in his home cooking last week when his father asked him to go outside and see why the family dogs were barking. Brown claims he saw an unidentified man lurking around his property with a flashlight and went to investigate. He contends the man, Cherokee County sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Jamie Beene, who was searching for an unrelated suspect, arrested him for no reason and broke his ankle and beat him while Brown was handcuffed behind his back. Brown was subsequently arrested on a misdemeanor charge of interfering with a police investigation and underwent surgery that night to repair his shattered ankle, which entailed three plates and 16 pins being used during the surgery. Brown's attorney, Hulon Brown, a former district attorney and Texas legislator, said My client was in his own yard and had nothing to do with what was going on. He was arrested and brutalized," he said. [more]