Eyewitness NewsWASHINGTON (WABC) -- A Washington state police department is investigating a report of police abuse after the beating of two brothers was caught on camera. The DashCam recorded police beating and arresting the men in Tukwila, Washington.
Officers claim the men resisted arrest, but the video seems to show them raising their hands before officers approached.
The two brothers, Charles Chappelle and Jahmez Amili, say it all happened so fast."I was thrown to the ground," Amili said. "I didn't have no idea what was going on. I was like, I can't believe he just started punching me."
The incident happened at 2:43 a.m. on Saturday, May 12.
"Once I was on the ground, I was pinned to the ground by several people," Chapelle said. "People's hands and knees were on my hands and back, and I was getting hit continually in the face."
The officers reportedly pepper-sprayed them, too.
According to the police report, officers were responding to a fight near the Southcenter Mall when they spotted the two brothers walking near the edge of the road.
"The pair was intoxicated, showing erratic behavior and were refusing orders," the report read.
The brothers admit they'd been drinking, but they say they were not arguing with the officers.
"I had my hands raised in the air," Amili said. "I was complying with the officer's demands."
The video shows Chappelle holding his hands up. And with the video slowed down, you can even see him start to go to the ground before the officer gets to him.
Once handcuffed, the two were walked to the patrol cars, where you can clearly see Amili's bloodied face.
"I was just trying to make sure I stay alive, because I was really like feeling like I was about to die," Chapelle said. "I couldn't breathe at all."
The two brothers were arrested for investigation of obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. Police say they also assaulted the officers during the struggle.
But when the two men were taken to jail, the guards turned them away and told police they needed to be taken to the hospital instead. That was at 3:47 a.m.
According to Chappelle and Amili, they never got treatment at Highline Hospital, like it said in the police report.
They say the officers washed off their faces in a garage at the Tukwila Police Department, then drove them around with the windows down.
Finally, at 5:47 a.m., three hours after they were first approached by police, Chappelle and Amili were taken to the jail and booked.
Both of the men have previous criminal convictions for drugs and assault.
The charges against Amili in this case were recently dismissed by a judge, but they are still pending against Chappelle.
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