From [HERE] Witnesses claim a black church groundskeeper in South Phoenix was roughed up by Phoenix police officers, who just left him there. The man, Frank Morrison, suffered a stroke during his run-in with police, and has been hospitalized since last Monday.
It's unclear exactly why police were at the Word Center church and the surrounding church-owned properties -- where the church helps house people -- around Third Street and Southern Avenue, around 4 a.m.
Witnesses say police told them they were looking for a burglary suspect, as Morrison was handcuffed, taken to the ground, and tossed against a police car, according to witnesses -- before being released with no ticket or any citation, and dumped on the side of the road in front of the church, as officers took off.
"I just remember screaming at them not to shoot me because I hadn't done anything wrong," said Morrison.
Pastor Jeffrey Burns, as well as a man who lives at the center, Jerome Holland, corroborated the story.
Holland tells New Times that he woke up to police flashlights in his face, as officers had come into his home on the property -- where he lives with his two small children -- without serving any warrant that he's aware of, and pulled him out of his room. Holland says police were quick to leave him, but says he saw Morrison out of his window, as police were aggressively moving him around a patrol car.
Pastor Burns tells New Times that he also saw Morrison outside, getting "slammed" into the side of the police car. "They left him there to die.” [MORE]
Those claims have now caught the attention of Attorney General Tom Horne (racist suspect in photo). He met with Morrison's lawyer and civil rights leaders today.
"We have people investigating whether we have any jurisdiction in the case and if so, what we can do. If we don't then does the city want us to help in any way, seeing that there's an objective investigation," said Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne. [MORE]
Interestingly, Burns says this is not the first time something like this has happened, as maybe about a week ago, police from the Phoenix Police Department's South Mountain precinct also came around the property without a warrant.
Phoenix attorney Ben Taylor confirms he's collected several signed witness statements about the incident.
Local black activists Jeffrey Metcalfe and Jarrett Maupin both believe the incident is race-related, as Maupin pointed out that stories like this don't tend to come out of Phoenix's predominantly white neighborhoods.
"If [police] can't do it at 24th Street and Camelback (near the Biltmore Estates), you can't do it at Third Street and Southern," Maupin says.