[See Entire 19 minutes and 38 seconds of the traffic stop]
From [HERE] and [HERE] Last week, the Dallas Police Department used its Facebook page to show dash-cam footage from January 27 in which Officer Quaitemes Williams is seen kicking and pepper-spraying Rodarick Lyles, who'd been pulled over by another officer for driving with a suspended license. It shows Officer Williams punching a handcuffed Lyles with his fist and using a flashlight to beat the unarmed man. Williams kicked Lyles in the head and sprayed pepper spray into his face. He also shocked Lyles with a Taser. Williams was fired last week, then promptly arrested on an official oppression charge and taken to Dallas County Jail. He was then later released on a $1,000 bond. [MORE] Officer Hiram Soler, who'd initially stopped Lyles, was suspended for 10 days for entering inaccurate, false or improper information on a police report.
In a lawsuit filed in federal district court, Mr. Lyles argues his constitutional rights were violated and he has endured pain and suffering. Lyles and his family spoke out in a news conference.
Lyles and his mother, Ella Flowers, think race was a factor, and they said it's a problem Dallas police need to face head-on. Flowers said, "they called him bad names, the n-word. You know they say words don't hurt you? Yes, they do. That messes with him at night. He jumps up. He can't sleep."The complaint alleges the officers did indeed use racial epithets and that one officer said to another after the beating, "You got your stripes tonight."
"I didn't have a dog," said Ella Flowers. "I had a son. And, you beat him like he was a dog. And, when I saw them put that mace in his eyes, that's when I got upset."
"It's very rare that you have such naked, graphic footage depicting what this guy did," Henley said.
Lyles is being represented by attorney Geoff Henley. He said that while Lyles was being attacked, Williams made racial slurs. Henley said his client was being taunted by Williams. "He cussed at him. He said, 'who's the tough mother f**ker now?' This is the first time the city is getting to learn what was said. And, what was said was very much just as important as what was done."
Flowers said the incident has caused both emotiontal and phsyical problems for her son.
"He can't stand up long, his knee, his back hurting him whenever he has to stand up or bend down. And he continues to have popping in his neck and in his shoulder. And, he can't see. Wasn't nothing wrong with my son before this happened."
She even took pictures of her son after the beating to show the extent of the damage.
"And, if you look at the pictures, you can look on the side," Flowers said. "Both footprints of where he was kicking my son, his footprint is in my son's head. Why? Why did you have to beat him like that? And, I honestly believe he tried to murder my son with intent."
Henley said it's going to take a substantial amount of money for his client to settle.
"I want justice done," Flowers said. "Justice. It's all I want is justice."