Last week, a bike ride to work turned into a bloody feud for an Arizona man.
Arthur Velasquez was on his way to work to the Banner Desert Medical Center; it was his first day on a new job.
Eventually, he made it to the hospital – ironically not to report for duty, but as someone who needed urgent medical attention.
The 22-year-old walked away with five stitches and a $900 hospital bill, thanks to police officers who beat him up so brutally he suffered a concussion. Yet, the department says what the cops did was not out of line.
A teary-eyed Velasquez describes what happened on Wednesday night.
He was on his way to work when two police officers stopped him.
The cops were looking for a suspect who was described as wearing a hoodie and riding a bike.
The civilian, fearing for his own safety, took out his phone to contact his sister Vanessa Mitchell.
“I had a feeling that with these two officers something bad was going to happen, that’s why I called my sister,” he explained.
Body cam footage of the incident has also been released.
In the video, the cops can be seen trying to snatch Velasquez’ cell phone; then they slammed him to the ground. The phone fell away while Mitchell was still on the line.
What ensued was a gory attack that left the victim physically and emotionally distraught.
“The first officer on scene hit me twice on the left side of my face, one resulting in the gash right here and one resulting in the puffing.
The second officer then punched me on my jaw on the right side, resulting in a small cut on the inside of my cheek.”
With tears rolling down, Velazquez says there was no point in punching him in the face when the rest of his body was already pinned down under one of the officers’ legs.
As the officers manhandled the innocent civilian, Mitchell could hear everything as she was still on the line.
They realized that someone was listening to their victim’s ordeal when Velazquez yelled that the police were using brutal force against him; this is when the cops went and hung up the phone for him.
Apart from his injuries, the humiliated man walked away with a ticket for not having a light on his bicycle. No other charges were pressed.
Velazquez added that had it not been for his sister, things would have been a lot worse.
Mitchell arrived on the scene shortly after the episode and took pictures of her sibling and his injuries.
Now, the man is planning to pursue a legal course of action. He wants the officers suspended as well as for the department to pay the medical expenses he incurred after the incident.
“I want them to know they don't deserve to wear a badge, and they are going to be causing problems, and no reasonable rights to do it. They don't need a badge."
Watch the video below: