New Orleans – A retired elementary teacher who was repeatedly punched in the head by police in a videotaped incident said Monday that he was not drunk, put up no resistance and was baffled by what happened.
Robert Davis said he had returned to New Orleans to check on property his family owns in the storm-ravaged city and was out looking to buy cigarettes when he was beaten and arrested Saturday night in the French Quarter.
Police have alleged that the 64-year-old Davis was publicly intoxicated, a charge he strongly denied as he stood on the street corner where the incident played out.
“I haven’t had a drink in 25 years,” Davis said. He had stitches beneath his left eye and a bandage on his left hand and complained of soreness in his back and aches in his left shoulder.
A federal civil rights investigation was beginning in the case. Davis is black. The three city police officers seen on the tape are white. Police spokesman Marlon Defillo said race was not an issue.
Two city officers and a third officer accused of grabbing and shoving an Associated Press Television News producer pleaded not guilty Monday to battery charges.
Davis said he had been walking in the French Quarter and approached a mounted police officer to ask about the city’s curfew when another officer interrupted. “This other guy interfered and I said he shouldn’t,” Davis said. “I started to cross the street and – bam – I got it. … All I know is this guy attacked me and said, ‘I will kick your (expletive),’ and they proceeded to do it.”
