Police in St. Louis County got some explaining to do. On Thursday afternoon they beat up and handcuffed a 22-year-old student they mistook for a suspect in a car chase.
College junior Joseph Swink was headed home from an internship when he crashed his car trying to avoid police during a chase. As his car started filling with smoke he ran away, only to be apprehended by police who mistook him for the suspect. He was tossed on the ground and handcuffed without any opportunity to explain himself. Photographs show a bloodied and brutally beaten Swink.
The real suspects car crashed and went into a ditch where he was arrested. It wasn’t until that information was relayed over a radio call that the officers apprehending Swink realized they had made a mistake.
The St. Ann police department is apologizing but denying that race was a reason. The victim feels differently. “There was nobody black on the scene, just a lot of white cops. I didn’t feel safe around them,” he told Fox 2 News. “I think they probably felt they could get away with it because I was and they can do this.”
Swink has no criminal record and is studying accounting at UMSL. He has been left with a totaled car and severe damage to his ear. In a turn of events, the police actually admitted they made a mistake and are will to pay for his expenses. Did they really have any other choice?
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