Winnsboro, Louisiana (AP) —State prosecutors beat a black driver, lifted him to his feet with a hair braid, and boasted in a text message that “Hupin” would give him a “nightmare.” For a long time, he charged three accused Louisiana police soldiers. “
The simple battery charge of misdemeanor when Antonio Harris was arrested in 2020 has increased the state’s highest law enforcement oversight, especially against blacks’ allegations of excessive power, and instinctive to conceal it. It happens in your instinct.
Jacob Braun, Dakota Demos, and George “Cam” Harper are white and were seen in a body camera video piled up on Harris after a high-speed chase next to a rural cornfield in Franklin Parish. .. Although he spread his arms and legs and surrendered face down.
The soldier’s lawyer declined to comment on Thursday. A spokesperson for the state police did not immediately comment on the allegations.
State police arrested soldiers in February 2021 For a felony The local prosecutor chose not to bring in the number when filing an information invoice in the Franklin Parish last week. A simple battery of Louisiana misdemeanor can be imprisoned for up to 6 months and fined $ 1,000.
The state prosecutor’s office comes as the federal grand jury of Lafayette is hearing testimony in the same case. Federal prosecutors have been investigating whether soldiers have used excessive force for months, but it is unclear whether the US Department of Justice intends to proceed with civil rights proceedings.
Similar uncertainty rests on a federal investigation into the fatal 2019 arrest of another black driver, Ronald Green, who was beaten by state police. A federal grand jury has also heard testimony of the case, and soldiers stunned, beaten, and dragged Green before his death on a country road in the Union Parish on the outskirts of Monroe. The Associated Press this week by the Justice Ministry More and more skeptical It can bring successful proceedings against soldiers.
Meanwhile, state legislators are investigating Green’s allegations of concealment of death and voted to serve as former chief this week. Insulting state police Against the subpoena and refused to turn over the handwritten diary he kept while leading the agency.
In Harris’s beating, internal investigations claimed that the soldiers continued to flee, refused to obey orders, and fought the soldiers before they began beating him with what Brown called a “tactical strike.” It turns out that I submitted a “not true” report.
“They kept saying,’Stop resisting,’ but I never resisted,” Harris told investigators. “As soon as they got to me, one of them knelt on my face. One of them was squinting at me.”
I also replaced the trooper later 14 text messages For several days after his arrest, he was studded with “laughs” and “haha” reactions, boasting of being ridiculed by beating Harris, who was suffering from rib pain and abdominal pain, spitting blood.
“He will certainly hurt tomorrow,” Brown wrote in one of the texts. “It warms my heart to know that we can educate the young man.”
Last year, Brown, Harper and Demos, who were part of a notorious and violent force patrol the northeastern part of the state, were arrested in the case. Demos and Harper were fired, and Brown was acquitted in another federal proceeding accusing him of him in October. Hit another black man I drove 18 times with a flashlight and resigned.
Demos is also being investigated for his role in Green’s death. Authorities initially accused the car accident at the end of the chase. AP released last year A long-held body camera video of a soldier showing a violent arrest.
The arrests of Green and Harris were among them At least 12 Over the last decade, AP investigations have shown that soldiers or their bosses ignore or conceal evidence of beatings, distract blame, and hamper efforts to eradicate fraud.Dozens of current and former soldiers hit AP, beating Impunity, Nepotist culture And in some cases, complete racism.
Harris’s case began after Brown pulled him on Interstate 20 for a minor traffic violation. The soldier checked his criminal record and found that Harris had suspended his driver’s license and unpaid warrant.
Harris rushes out of the Hyundai Sonata transportation stop, leads a soldier in a 29-mile (47 km) chase, and helps a spike strip that punctures a tire after reaching a speed of 150 miles (241 kph). I borrowed it and finally stopped. ..
Harris had already surrendered, but the first trooper to arrive, Demos, said, “I kicked my knees, opened my palms and hit my face, and then turned off my camera.” The record shows.
Meanwhile, Harper hit Harris’ head several times with a flashlight-reinforced fist, threatening to “punish” Harris, but Brown pulled the man’s hair, internal investigations concluded. Demos can later be seen in the footage of Harris being lifted to his feet with a braid.
Investigators have determined that Brown never informed state prosecutors that there was a camera video worn in the arrest.