Saturday, November 12, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- A retired teacher injured during a videotaped beating by New Orleans police says he feels no anger toward the department."I hold no animosity against anyone. I want to thank the new police chief for his quick action. I really do," 64-year-old Robert Davis said Tuesday.Justice Department officials said Tuesday they will review the results of an FBI investigation to determine whether federal civil rights charges are appropriate. New Orleans Police Department's Office of Internal Affairs is also part of the investigation.Davis is African-American; the three officers allegedly involved in the French Quarter beating last Saturday are white. A second investigation related to the incident was opened by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which said Tuesday it is investigating whether one of its agents manhandled two witnesses to the beating.An Associated Press photographer captured the beating on tape. It shows Davis covered in blood, handcuffed with his arms behind his back. Several times, officers used their feet to prevent him from turning from his stomach onto his back. (Watch raw footage of the beating -- 1:26) Davis was taken from the scene by ambulance about 10 minutes after the beating. "We can expect a short investigation, probably a couple of days," said FBI spokesman Rich Kilo. The FBI said the investigators were sent to assist state and local law enforcement authorities who have already brought state battery charges against the officers. Two FBI agents were actually at the scene as the beating ended, said FBI officials Tuesday.The agents, who were not identified, had just finished a meal when they happened on the beating, FBI headquarters officials said."When they showed up, the individual was cuffed," said FBI spokesman Stephen Kodak, referring to Davis. "They have no idea what happened before they showed up."On Monday, the officers allegedly involved in the beating -- Lance Schilling, Robert Evangelist and S.M. Smith -- pleaded not guilty to the charges of battery and were released on bond. (Full story)A trial has been set for January, and the officers have been suspended without pay.Davis' attorney: Attackers were rotten apples, not racistsDavis was in New Orleans to check on property he owns in the flooded 9th Ward the night of his beating, he told CNN Tuesday. He was walking in the French Quarter when he became concerned about the curfew and asked a police officer about it.Davis said they were interrupted by another police officer walking by."He interrupted our conversation. I told him that was very unprofessional," Davis said. "I proceeded to walk on across the street, at which time he punched me, I guess, and from there I don't remember much other than a lady in the crowd, I guess just a bystander, who kept hollering, 'He didn't do anything'."Joseph Bruno, the attorney for Davis, said his client does not believe the assault was racially motivated. "I know there is a big temptation to go there, but my client firmly believes that is not what is involved here," Bruno said in an interview.Instead, Bruno said, Davis believes he was assaulted by "a couple of rotten apples that need to be dealt with."Davis suffered fractures in his cheek and near his eye. He said Tuesday that his back still hurt and that he might have to have surgery on his eye.Bruno said they would likely file a civil suit, but under the "best" scenario his client could "break even" because of the limited nature of punitive damages under Louisiana law.Davis also faces charges: public intoxication, battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. He is scheduled to appear in court this week and denies he was drunk. (Video: Davis denies drinking - 5:22)"I haven't drank in 25 years," Davis told CNN. "That's the amazing part." Bruno said he would ask for the charges to be dropped. He told CNN his client was not asked to submit to a sobriety test. The other probeIn the customs agency incident under investigation, the two witnesses to the beating incident, Calvin Briles and Mike Monaghan, said they were handcuffed, manhandled and shoved around by a man in a U.S. Customs vest. Both men are relief workers and students at the University of South Florida. Briles described to the Bradenton, Florida Herald how he was thrown against a car with his face pressed against its hood after saying, "I want to tell somebody" about the beating.Both men said they were handcuffed while authorities checked to see if there were outstanding warrants against them. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents helped with crowd control after the beating incident. ICE spokesman Marc Raimondi stressed that there is no allegation linking the customs agent to the beating itself.CNN's Dan Simon, Alina Cho, Terry Frieden, Rod Griola, Chris Strathmann, Jeanne Meserve and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report

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