Man files NYPD complaints after suffering brain bleed in altercation with officers, attorney says
A New York City man charged with resisting arrest has filed complaints against the NYPD, his attorney said, after claiming he suffered bleeding on the brain from the altercation with officers.
Sammy Santiago, 50, said Thursday he was released from the hospital days after his interaction with the officers who responded to a noise complaint in his Bronx neighborhood last weekend.
Bronx man says officers were confronting his daughter
Santiago said he was listening to music with his family outside in the area of Hunts Point Avenue and Gilbert Place last Saturday at around 11 p.m.
Police said they received multiple 311 calls complaining about noise in the area.
"I went to the store and then when I was walking back, my daughter and the police was already going at it," Santiago told CBS News New York.
According to NYPD, officers were attempting to seize a speaker and issue a summons when his daughter, 35-year-old Shatiqua Hill, began to interfere.
"So I try to go tell the police officer, like, 'My daughter got [mental] problems. Let me calm her down,'" Santiago said.
CBS News New York does not have video of what happened before the incident, but it appears officers' body cameras were rolling.
Police said Santiago began to obstruct the officers placing Hill under arrest.
When asked if he heard an officer telling him "get back, get back," Santiago said, "I just wanted to explain to them that my daughter got problems."
According to the criminal complaint, an officer reported Santiago was "in a fighting stance, clenching fists," toward the officer and allegedly said, "I'll get it on with you, what you wanna do? Why are you arresting her, that is my daughter."
"I don't remember me saying that," Santiago said. "That's my daughter, so the only thing I remember is just trying to let them know ... First time when I tried explaining to them, he pushed me."
Man charged with resisting arrest
The criminal complaint also alleges that while officers placed Santiago under arrest, he "flailed his arms and physically pushed officers away in an attempt to avoid being handcuffed," and that he "had to be taken down to the ground to be handcuffed and he crossed his arms tightly across his chest, refusing to comply with lawful orders to place his hands behind his back."
"The way he hit me, I felt pain throughout my whole body," Santiago said.
He claims he was not resisting arrest.
"I couldn't put my arms behind my back. There were all officers on top of me. They had control of that, not me. They had control of my whole body," he said.
Santiago's attorney said they filed complaints with the Civilian Complaint Review Board and NYPD internal affairs.
The Bronx District Attorney's Office said its Public Integrity Unit is also investigation.
Santiago pleaded not guilty to obstruction, harassment and resisting arrest charges. Hill pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and got time served.