Galveston Police Seized Wrong Phone in Attempt to Destroy Evidence of Brutality, Lawsuit Claims
Man claims he was beaten and tasered
The city of Galveston, Texas is facing a lawsuit from Jarrett Anthony Neu over an allegation of police brutality that includes cops seizing the wrong cellphone.
Neu claims that Galveston police arrested him at 4:45 p.m. on March 11, without a warrant, at a Galveston apartment complex. He claims they lied about it in the police report. He claims they subjected him not only to threats, intimidation, insult and humiliation, but severe and cruel physical abuse and punishment by both physical beating and the repeated unnecessary and unwarranted deployment of a less-than-lethal Taser weapon on plaintiff. Plaintiff, who suffers from a pre-existing cardiac ailment, suffered permanent and debilitating injuries as well as permanent disfigurement and scarring at the hands of these police officers. During this police administered beating, officers realized that a citizen was filming the beating via cell phone and the officer's involved without a legal reason seized (the wrong) cell phone. Counsel for plaintiff has the cell phone that recorded the beating. The conduct of defendant violated plaintiff's rights under the 1st, 4th, 8th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution."
Courthouse News notes it's the first time they've reported a claim that police took a wrong cellphone while trying to seize video evidence of brutality, a growing trend with the rise of phone cameras.
More Reason on the war on cameras here.
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