A homeless man says he was beaten by police for no reason during an incident Sept. 17 outside a Suitland Liquor store where was waiting for food from a restaurant next door.
Christopher Harrison, 35, said he is part of a group of homeless people who gather near Suitland Liquors, on the corner of Suitland Road and Heron Street. He said he suffered a broken orbital floor fracture to the right eye that will require surgery and several lacerations on his right arm when he was taken down to the ground by Prince George’s County police.
Harrison said the lead officer in the case became agitated when he couldn’t produce identification. When order to go to the back of the police cruiser, Harrison insisted he remain at the front of the cruiser where he believed cameras were located. He said he feared that what happened would happen.
Harrison was first taken to the MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Northwest D.C. and then to the MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, Md. “I was waiting for my food when the officers pulled up and said they had received complaints about loitering,” Harrison said. “He told me to sit down and that I was going to jail. When I refused to come to the back of the car, he pulled me back there and that’s when everything happened.”
There were no charges filed against Harrison. Harrison said he plans to file a formal complaint.
Harrison has hired attorney Gabriel Christian to represent him on the case. “It is an egregious example of police misconduct,” Christian told the AFRO. “It’s a grave concern.”
Prince George’s County Police say they are also investigating the incident.
Aya Elamroussi contributed to this article.