Charges Dropped Against Man Beaten By Police
MIAMI - (CBS4) - An unarmed man who was shown on YouTube being punched by Miami police officers had his charges dropped Monday morning.
Gilberto Matamoros, 22, was thrust into the media spotlight after being arrested in Coconut Grove on Halloween night for resisting arrest without violence. The beating was captured on video and posted on YouTube.
The Miami police department launched an internal investigation into the officer's actions.
A South Florida attorney who represents Matamoros said his client was at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
"These police officers picked Gilbert out of the crowd and they decided to take out their frustrations on him for what happened that night," said Ricardo Martinez-Cid.
Martinez-Cid said during the arraignment hearing he was taken by surprise by the prosecutor. Martinez-Cid said the case should have been dropped earlier.
"We were told by the prosecutors that they were going to drop all the charges and not move forward at all," said Martinez-Cid during the first hearing in November. "(But) As I understand it, as of 8 o'clock this morning (Wednesday) the state was going to file a no action. But I understand they may have changed their mind."
"All he tried to do is cover his head, until he passed out. They beat him until he was unconscious, and they had to take him to Jackson," said Martinez-Cid.
Martinez-Cid said he did nothing wrong and shouldn't be penalized for being in an unruly.
"Gilbert is a good kid, he actually mentors kids, he's worked for the police athletic league," said Martinez-Cid.
