A new video of the Mesa, Arizona police allegedly using excessive force has come to light, regarding an incident in January involving Arizona man Jose Luis Conde. Conde was arrested after the car he was driving was pulled over and police suspected he had drugs in his sock. Police said they feared an attack, but the video doesn’t seem to support this.
“I was tased, I was punched over and over by multiple cops. I was gouged in the eye, and I was hit in the head with a massive police flashlight,” Conde said at a press conference with his lawyer, Bret Royale. Conde continued, “After all of this, they laughed — they laughed at me while I laid in a pool of my own blood, barely conscious. And this is no laughing matter.”.As reported by NBC News, Conde’s attorney said he required medical assistance after the arrest, as he needed both staples in his head and part of his ear reattached.
In addition to beating Conde, the Mesa police mocked him for the injuries they inflicted. Audible in the video, an officer tells Conde, “You gotta be a man, man. Man up,” while in the hospital. This is not the first recent incident of alleged police brutality in Mesa.
Mesa Police Chief Ramon Batista has committed the department to an independent investigation into use-of-force incidents after videos were released to the public and met with outrage, but has said “Simply put, the tape released yesterday by media outlets does not tell the full story concerning this arrest.” Police said they did find Conde had cocaine on him, and Conde both resisted arrest and tried to run from the hospital.
Conde is charged with felony cocaine possession, aggravated assault for injuries to the officers, and one count each of escape and resisting arrest. Law&Crime has reached out to Conde’s attorney for comment.
[Image via Screengrab]
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