US Olympic observe star is tased and arrested after confrontation with police: Lawyer says cops ‘overreacted’ | EUROtoday
Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
The newest headlines from our reporters throughout the US despatched straight to your inbox every weekday
Your briefing on the most recent headlines from throughout the US
Your briefing on the most recent headlines from throughout the US
A U.S. Olympic observe and subject star is dealing with prices in Miami Beach after he was tackled by police and tased, bodycam footage exhibits.
However, a lawyer for Fred Kerley, 29, mentioned the police “overreacted.”
The footage captured Kerley, sporting a grey hoodie, having an argument with 4 cops that escalated right into a bodily confrontation Thursday evening. The officers wrestled him to the bottom earlier than stepping away from him as he was tased within the decrease again.
Police had been concerned in an unrelated investigation on ninth Street in Miami Beach when the observe star “approached” officers round 11:20 p.m. “with an aggressive demeanor” attributable to concern about his automobile parked close by, in keeping with an arrest report obtained by CBS News.
Kerley argued with police and his girlfriend, who tried to intervene, the report mentioned. Then Kerley obtained right into a combat with the cops.
One cop “delivered multiple hammer fists” towards the athlete’s head and elbows. Another reportedly advised Kerley as he lay on the bottom: “Stop resisting!”
The Olympian then replied: “I’m not resisting, get off of me, bro.” Officers tased him, prompting him to break down onto his abdomen, in keeping with the report.
Police wrote that Kerley “disrupted the flow of pedestrian traffic and caused a crowd on the nearest sidewalk” and “endangered the safety” of the workers and clients at a close-by restaurant.
He was arrested on prices of battery, resisting an officer with out violence and disorderly conduct, information present.
His lawyer, Richard L. Cooper, issued an announcement to CBS News. “It is clear from all available recordings of the arrest (including police worn body camera) that the police overreacted to an otherwise peaceful interaction with Mr. Kerley,” Cooper mentioned.
Kerley appeared in court docket on Friday, the place a decide didn’t discover possible trigger for the disorderly conduct cost, the community reported.
He was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Friday. The 29-year-old has since been launched on his personal recognizance, information present.
The police stood by their response.
“Mr. Kerley battered one of our officers and pushed him in the chest, at which point the officers put their hands on him and tasered him,” Officer Christopher Bess advised CBS News. “The message is very clear that when you see officers engaged in a scene give them some distance.”
“This could have been prevented,” Bess mentioned. “Our officers tried multiple times to de-escalate but Mr. Kerley kept rushing our officers.”
His girlfriend, Cleo Rahman who’s higher often called Dj Sky High Baby, was additionally charged with resisting arrest. The police report said that “her actions took several officers to divert their attention from assisting the officers to deal with her.”
In the bodycam footage, she might be heard yelling: “Stop! Stop! He didn’t do anything!”
She appeared to have recorded the incident on her telephone.
“He was not aggressive,” she advised CBS News in an announcement. “This does not give police the right to push him and be aggressive for no reason. He’s an athlete. He is team USA. It is not like he is playing for another team. He is here. This was so unfortunate.”
In the aftermath of the athlete’s arrest, police added extra prices of theft/strongarm and home battery towards Kerley, information present. These counts stemmed from a May 7 incident involving an alleged combat along with his ex-wife; police advised CBS News they weren’t capable of finding him on the time.
He competed within the Paris video games over the summer time whereas the costs within the alleged home incident had been underneath investigation.
The post-arrest prices resulted “from a falsified accusation that has resurfaced because of this new media attention from last night’s wrongful arrest,” Cooper mentioned.
The legal professional continued: “I can say that Mr. Kerley is a record-breaking athlete who has honorably and successfully represented our nation in the Olympics many times. These charges are false and indicate the brutal police state that Miami Beach has become.”
Kerley gained a silver medal within the 100m on the 2020 Olympics and gained a bronze medal in the identical race on the 2024 Olympics.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/fred-kerley-olympics-arrested-miami-b2673859.html