New Orleans – A police union official and a lawyer for officers accused in the beating of a retired teacher sharply disputed on Wednesday the man’s contention he was brutalized during his arrest, which was captured on video.
Attorney Frank DeSalvo said the video shows a truncated version of the Saturday night arrest and he disputed details the video appears to have captured, including whether the 64-year-old suspect was punched in the face.
“I see an incident of a man trying to be brought under control who doesn’t want to be brought under control,” DeSalvo said.
The man who was beaten, Robert Davis, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of public intoxication, resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and public intimidation.
Davis has described himself as a recovering substance abuser who has not had a drink in 25 years. His lawyer asked prosecutors to dismiss charges, but his trial was set for Jan. 18.
The two city officers accused in the beating, and a third accused of grabbing and shoving an Associated Press Television News producer, are due to go on trial on battery charges a week before Davis’ trial.
Davis’ lawyer, Joseph Bruno, said an APTN videotape of the confrontation shows his client being brutalized by police for no reason. After the arraignment, however, leaders of the city’s police union offered their own interpretations.
Police union officials described Davis as so intoxicated that he staggered down the street, stumbled into a police horse and became belligerent when officers intervened.
DeSalvo said police union officials had “broken the thing down frame by frame” and saw officers trying to bring under control an angry man. “He brought it on by his actions,” DeSalvo said.
No tests for intoxication were administered after the arrest. The officers involved in the incident – Lance Schilling, Robert Evangelist and S.M. Smith – did not speak during the news conference. DeSalvo said Schilling and Evangelist hit Davis’ shoulders, and he denied the arrest was as violent as has been portrayed.
