Family says they’re traumatized by video of Milwaukee police officer punching man, police union president says officer was within policy
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – The family of a man charged after a controversial arrest in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood believes officers used excessive force as police department leaders say an investigation is underway.
Twenty-four-year-old Nicholas Beamon has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon. According to court documents, Beamon was a passenger in a vehicle with a driver, Kennedy Gray, and another passenger, Jada Berry, on Oct. 8.
According to court documents, police stopped the vehicle for a license plate violation near Keefe and Palmer. Prior to the traffic stop, officers listed in the court documents say they had been notified by other officers that Beamon had a bulge in his hoodie pocket consistent with a concealed weapon.
Court documents say an officer said the three people in the vehicle were argumentative as the officer approached the driver, and officers asked the three people to leave the vehicle. The documents say each of the occupants became physically resistive, with one officer saying he felt a firearm in Beamon’s hoodie.
Video of the arrest shows Beamon on the ground with two officers struggling to subdue him. As the two officers try to secure Beamon's arms, a third officer enters the frame and punches the man several times in the area of his head and shoulders. The video, recorded by a witness, has spread widely online.
Another officer said Gray kicked him in the head during the arrest, leading to a concussion. Gray was charged with battery to public officers.
B'Ivory LaMarr, an attorney who has represented families in numerous civil rights lawsuits across the U.S., is representing Beamon and Berry. He is calling for the immediate release of all body-camera footage, a transparent investigation, and accountability for any officer who crossed the constitutional line.
"What began as a traffic stop over a missing front license plate ended in a disturbing display of police force,” LaMarr said. “When I see someone on the ground, with their hands cuffed behind their back, being repeatedly beaten in the head by a police officer, I must ask: Where is the humanity?”
LaMarr said a 1-year-old child was also in the vehicle at the time of the incident.
"I'm demanding answers and accountability and justice for my son,” said Beamon’s mother, Sirseal Wright, at a press conference with LaMarr on Wednesday, Oct. 14. “There was no reason for him being treated like that.”
“What was done to them has traumatized this entire family,” said Nicole Beamon, Nicholas Beamon’s sister.
President Alexander Ayala of Milwaukee Police Association (MPA), which represents the city's rank-and-file officers, said Wednesday Beamon was loosely handcuffed during the arrest, which meant a handgun could have been in reach.
“This is being reviewed by the department. We stand behind our officer for the actions that were taken. No use of force is ever pretty, but that is the nature of our job. The officer is within policy, the arrest is within policy, and the subject did have a firearm in the front pocket of that hoodie,” Ayala said.
At a press conference related to announcing newly released crime data on Wednesday, Oct. 14, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson both said they had not seen the video. Norman said that he hasn’t seen it as the video, and others connected to the case, are under review.
“I understand that the community is looking for answers, I know there’s a lot of discussion, but as we all know, thoroughness doesn’t come overnight,” Norman said.