14 DAY TRIAL // A brutal beating by the Long Island police department has been captured on a camera phone by a witness and uploaded to YouTube.
Police claimed that the suspect became violent before they intervened with batons and tasers.
*The video of the incident has been posted below this news article but user discretion is advised as it contains violent, shocking footage.
Long Beach Police Sgt. Aaron Eaton described that the man was refusing to cooperate with police. He was previously reported for hitting a man in the head and he allegedly attacked officers before being hit himself. Earlier reports mentioned that he was involved in an altercation with two other suspects.
"As the officer tried to communicate with him, he started to yell. [...] He asked the officer to kill him," Eaton says.
The clip shows Porfirio Santos-Lopez being tasered and struck with batons multiple times.
"He tried to kick and punch one of the officers and that's when they took him down," witness Maria Ruiz confirms.
As we documented earlier today, the suspect is mentally ill and his wife is now citing police brutality. Santos-Lopez has two broken bones that require surgery.
According to LA Times, police have 41/2-minute footage from security cameras, depicting the entire incident.
They have launched an investigation into the unnecessary force claims. Meanwhile, the suspect confessed to using methamphetamine before the arrest.
Law enforcement officials have retrieved the footage from the CCTV system at the liquor store in front of which the beating took place.
Eaton further claims that they have used whatever tools at their disposal to "get a combative subject into custody." They asked Santos-Lopez to turn on his stomach and he refused to comply.
"It wasn't that he couldn't understand. He refused to go on his stomach," Eaton argues.
"It doesn't appear from the video that the police officers were doing anything wrong. [...] But we still don't know all the facts here," comments ex-LAPD captain Greg Meyer.
