The man accused of shooting two Ferguson police officers during a protest rally outside the Ferguson, Missouri police headquarters was allegedly beaten while he was taken into custody.
Jeffrey Williams, 20, had bruises across his back and neck, a welt on his head, and a mark on his face his lawyer claimed. Police are calling the allegations completely false, even though a mugshot of Williams was released on Sunday and showed several cuts bruises on his face. At this time it is unclear if these injuries were a result of the beating Williams claims he suffered at the hands of the police.
Jerryl Christmas, the lawyer representing Williams, says that he met with Williams for two hours on Monday but was not allowed to take pictures of his client. Williams appeared in court on Monday without the counsel of his lawyer and did not enter into a plea deal. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle, and three counts of criminal action. If convicted, Williams can serve 10 to 30 years in prison or up to life in prison.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announced Williams arrest on Sunday and told reporters that Williams admitted to firing the shots that wounded the officers but he claimed that he was not shooting at police.
The shooting is just the latest violent incident occurring in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown by former police officer Darren Wilson. Weeks of protest, both peaceful and violent, followed the death of Brown after a grand jury decided not to bring charges against Wilson.
Police are saying that the accusations being made by Williams are completely false. Spokesman Brian Schellman, said in a statement that Williams was taken to the St Louis County Police headquarters after he was arrested, interviewed by detectives with video and audio surveillance, evaluated by a nurse to confirm that he is fit for confinement and booked.
Christmas says that Williams was taken into police custody on a probation warrant and did not know he was being arrested until he was take in for questioning. Police claim that the the shooting was a an ambush but Christmas says that it was clearly not a police ambush and that any of the protesters could have easily been shot instead.
Several long time activist have said that they do not know or recognize Williams as a protester.
The shooting of the officers followed a flurry of resignations and protests in the week after the U.S. Justice Department released a damning report accusing Ferguson of racially biased policing.