- Police Brutality Watch

Cleo Harrison's face is swollen and his left eye is still filled with blood. Harrison tells KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin his injuries are the result of a beating he took from Baden police -- even though he says he did nothing wrong. "They put me in a chokehold and I was gasping for air and while I was down on the ground, they was hitting me with uppercuts and they sprayed mace in my mouth." -- Cleo Harrison, Says police beat him According to Harrison, police started following him Friday night as he drove to his mother-in-law's house to see his daughter. Though Harrison has no criminal history and no past troubles with police, he says officers searched his car and then his in-laws' house, claiming it was a drug den. A Baden police report actually confirms part of the story. An officer writes: "I noticed a suspicious vehicle." The officer began following it -- even though as KDKA discovered, there were no violations on Harrison's car. The report says the officer then followed Harrison into the house because it "has been a known drug house." Our own investigation, however, shows no reported troubles at the house. Harrison says he was nothing but cooperative -- that he let police search his house and his mother-in-law let them search her house; but even though, they found nothing, he says, officers insisted that he go with them to the police station. When he refused, Harrison says things got ugly. "They came in behind me and they just started beating me -- beating me all in my face -- and just beating me and choking me till I fell to the ground and they put cuffs on me --and took me outside." -- Cleo Harrison, Says police beat him His mother-in-law says she watched it all happen. "They beat him up so bad, then they dragged him out of there. I seen his eye was like that -- blood running from his face. It was just terrible." -- Cathy Sue Dobbins, Mother-in-Law But according to the police report, Harrison refused to co-operate and resisted arrest. The report goes on to say "the defendant began to fight with officers.. He was subdued with necessary force." [more]