The Christmas celebrations turned ugly for one man who got into a tangle with police. On Tuesday morning, 25-year-old Shawn Ortiz was celebrating at Putt Putt Bar and Grill when he got into an altercation with a policeman. Ortiz explains that he was waving his rag in the festive spirit when it brushed across the face of an off duty police officer. Now, he's got a massive swollen eye and he partially explains what happened next.
Shawn Ortiz, Alleges Police Brutality
"I guess I caught this so called police, he says he is a police, and he said I touched him in the head three times, so this man just came and punched me in my mouth. That is the first thing he did to me on Monday night (Tuesday morning) around two o'clock or so. When the man punched me I punched him back because he wasn't in uniform so I punched him back in his eye. Some CIB held me and took my outside and they were talking to me and they were letting me go already. Then he saw a mobile coming. He flagged down the mobile and told them, 'dah he dah he dah he.' He told them to lock me down until this morning.
They didn't want to give me any charge until this morning. When they came to take me to court this morning, he let them handcuff me, pull out his baton, and whapped me in my eye in the cell block.
I want the public to see how the police are chancing people because this could have been worse. The man handcuffed me and chanced me. It is not like he wanted to fight me like a man because I know he can't beat me. He is talking that me one can't beat me but he had to handcuff me and chance me. I could have just told him to let me and him rumble.
I can't breathe good right now. Two nose are clogged up, you hear how I talk and blood is running through my nose. My teeth feel you know."
Ortiz says he has made a complaint to the Internal Affairs Department. Meanwhile, he is out on a thousand dollars bail for common assault of the police officer.
