Miami

Man Claims He Was Badly Beaten By Miami Police Officers During Traffic Stop

A man claims he was badly beaten by City of Miami Police officers during a traffic stop in what he's calling a case of excessive force.

"Everything happened so fast that it felt like I was in a movie," Brian White told NBC 6 Tuesday. "They're like 'put your hands up.' I put my hands up and then right after that they pulled me out of the car, threw me on the floor and beat me up."

According to the arrest affidavit, a police officer was attempting to conduct a traffic stop July 2 on a white Mercedes suspected to have been used in a bank robbery. After a brief pursuit, the Mercedes came to a stop at 33rd Avenue and 11th Street, the report said. White was a passenger in that car.

"He was running red lights I'm like 'bro I have a 3-year-old son...stop, stop," White said.

Surveillance video obtained by White's family shows officers rushing to the car. The driver jumps out and White claims he stayed inside.

"My son did exactly what it says in the law to do, wait for the police to tell you what you need to do," father Thomas White said.

The arrest affidavit states White violently pushed an officer and continued to resist arrest. White and his father said that's simply not true.

"In the video you can clearly see that my son never had a chance to get up or anything. He had 5, 7 officers on top of him," Thomas White said.

"Although no one has formally contacted our Internal Affairs Section or the Miami Police Department, we are aware of the incident and we are looking into the matter," Miami Police said in a statement Tuesday.

The Miami Police Union released a statement Wednesday saying White was fighting with officers after "participating as a passenger in a high speed pursuit.

"Our Miami Police Officers utilized an appropriate level of force to gain control of him," the statement said.

White, 27, was booked into Miami-Dade Jail on charges of battery on an officer and resisting arrest with violence. His booking photo shows several bruises and cuts on his face.

He was later released from jail.

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