Tukwila (Wa) Police Officers Caught on Video Beating Unarmed, Non-Resisting Black Men During False Arrest - Officers Lie in Reports
Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 02:08AM Police Deny Medical Treatment - Take Black Men to Garage From [HERE] and [HERE] Two brothers have filed a formal complaint against a Washington police department, claiming officers used unnecessary force when arresting them on trumped-up charges, then refused them medical treatment in an effort to cover the assault. The incident in Tukwila, Wash., south of Seattle, was caught on dashcam video.
Brothers Charles Chappelle and Jahmez Amili were walking down a dark street in May when a Tukwila patrol car pulled up. Police said the two men were acting erratically and appeared intoxicated. The dashcam captures two officers pouncing on the brothers, throwing them to the ground Officers claim the men resisted arrest, but the video shows them raising their hands before officers approached.
The two brothers, Charles Chappelle and Jahmez Amili, say it all happened so fast. “I didn’t have an idea it was going on,” Amili, 29, said. “I couldn’t believe he just started punching me,” he told KIRO-TV. Chappelle could clearly be seen with his arms in the air before an officer tackled him.
The video shows Chappelle holding his hands up. And with the video slowed down, you can even see him start to go to the ground before the officer gets to him. The incident happened at 2:43 a.m. on Saturday, May 12.
"Once I was on the ground, I was pinned to the ground by several people," Chapelle said. "People's hands and knees were on my hands and back, and I was getting hit continually in the face."
The officers reportedly pepper-sprayed them, too.
"I had my hands raised in the air, I was complying with the officer's demands. I was pinned to the ground. I was getting hit continually.”
The men were also pepper sprayed.
The video then shows the arresting officers picking up the handcuffed men, with blood pouring from Amili’s face.
"I was just trying to make sure I stay alive, 'cause I was really, like, feeling like I was about to die 'cause I couldn't breathe at all," Amili said.
According to the police report, officers were responding to a fight near the Southcenter Mall when they spotted the two brothers walking near the edge of the road.
"The pair was intoxicated, showing erratic behavior and were refusing orders," the report read.
The brothers admit they'd been drinking, but they say they were not arguing with the officers.
"I had my hands raised in the air," Amili said. "I was complying with the officer's demands."
On their arrest report, the officers said Chappelle and Amili were taken into custody for resisting arrest, intoxication and acting erratically.
Once handcuffed, the two were walked to the patrol cars, where you can clearly see Amili's bloodied face.
After they were taken into custody, the brothers were brought to the jail, where guards refused to admit them because they needed immediate medical attention.
But the brothers claim they were not taken to the hospital but to a parking garage, where their bloody faces were washed off.
"A police officer was holding my eyelid open, while another police officer was spraying water in my face," Chappelle said.
Then, the men were driven around in the patrol car for several hours.
"I think they were trying to make the swelling in our faces go down," said Chappelle.
The men were eventually booked and placed in jail. They are now considering a lawsuit.
Both of the men have previous criminal convictions for drugs and assault.
The charges against Amili in this case were recently dismissed by a judge, but they are still pending against Chappelle.
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