KMOV CHANNEL 4
A St. Louis County, Mo., police chief has apologized to a 22-year-old student who was brutally beaten by police officers who were pursuing another man, according to Raw Story, citing a report at KMOV Channel 4.
The incident began Thursday when officers were pursuing a suspect named Anton Simmons on Interstate 70 outside St. Louis when student Joseph Swink lost control of his car and crashed as he tried to clear a path for police vehicles, St. Ann Police Chief Aaron Jimenez said in a press conference on Friday, the report says.
When Swink’s car became filled with smoke, he darted from the vehicle, only to be tackled and beaten bloody by officers who mistook him for Simmons, who had 17 separate warrants out for his arrest, according to the news outlet.
“They ended up grabbing him [Swink], tossing him to the ground, and were trying to handcuff him,” Jimenez said, the report says. “All the sirens and lights were going off. It was very loud and they couldn’t hear anything the citizen was saying.”
Source: The Root | LYNETTE HOLLOWAY
