YAKIMA, Wash.-- A man beaten during a police
response. His wife claims brutality; police say he wouldn't cooperate. A
picture of the aftermath wound up on the KIMA Facebook page.
It's
a startling image sent to KIMA on our Facebook page: a man beaten up and
bloodied after a struggle with police. He's Russell Anderson, and his wife,
Joey, is still angry about it.
"My
husband stood right here watching everything that was transpiring that
night," Joey Anderson said.
It
happened one night in late April. The Andersons called police for help to get
some unwanted guests off their property. At one point, Joey says Russell
grabbed a machete before police got there.
According
to the incident report, Russell was inside when officers arrived. They told him
to come outside.
"He was unarmed," Joey said.
"He had my cell phone in his hand. That's the only thing that he had in
his hand."
"Did
he stop when they asked him to stop?" KIMA asked.
"He
was still proceeding to the first officer," she responded.
When
he wouldn't stop, police records indicate officers took him to the ground.
Police say he was resisting, which is why the situation escalated.
Investigators
say they're aware of the picture of Anderson's injury being posted online and
think it's unfair.
"It's
important, if you're going to post something in terms of something that may be
slanted against law enforcement, put the whole story out there," Yakima
Police Department Capt. Rod Light said. "Put all the information out
there."
Something
else complicates the matter: One of the five officers who responded was Casey
Gillette. He was cleared earlier this year for the shooting death of Rocendo
Arias at a Yakima car wash, and he has been reprimanded for excessive force in
the past.
"Unfortunately,
if you're involved in a shooting situation, you come back to work, you step
back into that role as a police officer and you go out every day and you face
tough situations where you've got to make judgment calls that oftentimes
involve the use of force," Light said.
Police
insist the force used on Russell Anderson didn't go over the line and would
have been avoided if he had cooperated. Anderson didn't want to be interviewed
for this story.
Joey
Anderson has filed a formal complaint with YPD. Police tell KIMA the complaint
will be thoroughly investigated.
Russell
Anderson was charged with domestic violence harassment and is out on bail.