  
| 
| |||||||||||||||||
Attorney: New Orleans officers acted properly
 Attorney Frank DeSalvo, middle right, appears at a press conference with three accused officers. SPECIAL REPORT
• Rebuilding: Vital signs
• Gallery: Landmarks over time
• Storm & Flood: Making history
• I-Report: Share your photos
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSNEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- The attorney for three New Orleans police officers facing charges from a videotaped beating said Wednesday that they followed proper procedure to subdue a man who was acting drunk and resisting arrest. Attorney Frank DeSalvo told reporters that the man, Robert Davis, lifted three officers off their feet in the struggle to handcuff him. Davis struck his face on the sidewalk when an FBI agent wrestled him to the ground, DeSalvo said. The agent did nothing wrong, he added. The lawyer's version of events was the latest in a series of conflicting accounts of the incident, which was captured on videotape by news crews. Davis, 64, has denied he was drunk and claims he first was struck from behind. "I haven't drank in 25 years," he told CNN on Tuesday. (See video of his denial -- 5:22) The retired teacher pleaded not guilty Wednesday to public intoxication, battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and public intimidation. His lawyer has said he will seek dismissal of the charges. A trial has been set for January 18. The three police officers charged with assaulting Davis also are scheduled to go on trial in January. They also have pleaded not guilty. DeSalvo told reporters that if Davis wasn't drunk, he appeared to be under the influence of something. Officers' lawyer: Davis staggered"On Saturday, October 8, Robert Davis was stumbling down the street," he said, adding that Davis then fell into a police horse. He said Davis acted like "a person whose brain is impaired by alcohol or something else." He said Davis' speech was slurred, he was belligerent, and he refused to cooperate with police attempts to frisk and handcuff him. The lawyer acknowledged that Davis was struck in the head, but claimed he received his most serious injuries to his face when "an FBI agent took him down to the ground." Even then, the lawyer said, Davis continued to resist, and he was subdued with pepper spray. An Associated Press photographer captured the beating on tape. It shows Davis covered in blood, handcuffed with his arms behind his back. Several times, officers used their feet to prevent him from turning from his stomach onto his back. (Watch raw footage of the beating -- 1:26) Davis was taken from the scene by ambulance about 10 minutes after the beating. Justice Department officials said Tuesday they will review the results of an FBI investigation to determine whether federal civil rights charges are appropriate. Davis is black; the three officers allegedly involved in the French Quarter beating last Saturday are white. The New Orleans Police Department's Office of Internal Affairs is also part of the investigation. Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan said Wednesday the officers involved are likely to face battery charges. "I think the tape is very, very strong evidence of the use of excessive force," Jordan said on CNN's "American Morning." "And it would certainly, I think, meet all of the requirements for a violation of state law, either simple battery or second-degree battery, depending upon the severity of the injuries sustained by Mr. Davis." Federal agencies investigatingAnother investigation related to the incident was opened by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which said Tuesday it is looking into whether one of its agents manhandled two witnesses to the beating. "We can expect a short investigation, probably a couple of days," FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said. The FBI said the investigators were sent to assist state and local law enforcement authorities who have brought state battery charges against the officers. Two FBI agents were actually at the scene as the beating ended, FBI officials said Tuesday. The agents, who were not identified, had just finished a meal when they happened on the beating, FBI headquarters officials said. "When they showed up, the individual was cuffed," said FBI spokesman Stephen Kodak, referring to Davis. "They have no idea what happened before they showed up." The officers allegedly involved in the beating -- Lance Schilling, Robert Evangelist and S.M. Smith -- pleaded not guilty Monday to the charges of battery and were released on bond. (Full story) The officers have been suspended without pay. Davis' attorney: Attackers were rotten apples, not racistsDavis was in New Orleans to check on property he owns in the 9th Ward the night of his beating, he told CNN Tuesday. He was walking in the French Quarter when he became concerned about the curfew and asked a police officer about it. Davis said they were interrupted by another police officer walking by. "He interrupted our conversation. I told him that was very unprofessional," Davis said. "I proceeded to walk on across the street, at which time he punched me, I guess, and from there I don't remember much other than a lady in the crowd, I guess just a bystander, who kept hollering, 'He didn't do anything'." Joseph Bruno, the attorney for Davis, said his client does not believe the assault was racially motivated. "I know there is a big temptation to go there, but my client firmly believes that is not what is involved here," Bruno said in an interview. Instead, Bruno said, Davis believes he was assaulted by "a couple of rotten apples that need to be dealt with. CNN's Dan Simon, Alina Cho, Terry Frieden, Rod Griola, Chris Strathmann, Jeanne Meserve and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
