*Quinette Brown couldn’t understand what her 24-year-old son, Arthur Wells, was saying over the phone early Sunday morning.
In an interview with the Delaware News Journal, Brown said that when her son called home from jail, all she could make out was that police had beaten him and he’d been denied medical treatment. “I couldn’t barely understand a lot of what he was saying because his mouth was so swollen that he could barely talk,” Brown said. “His braces cut through his gums.”
Two days after that phone call, Brown is still unsure as to what led to her son’s arrest, which happened around 3 a.m. Sunday (July 12). She also doesn’t know his exact charges but believes they’re related to resisting arrest.
In a 10-second clip that’s garnered more than 128,000 views on Twitter, several Wildwood police officers are seen pinning Wells face-down to the ground near a wall. One of the officers, who is white, starts punching the young Black man in the face. The officer hits Wells first with his right fist, then with his left. The punches continue for about four seconds before the officer grabs Wells’ right arm and forces it behind his back. The video also shows at least two other officers holding Wells down as the officer beats his head.
Watch below:
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A day after video of the beating was posted on Twitter by a friend of the man who recorded it, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office said it’s conducting “a preliminary investigation” to “determine whether the actions of the arresting officer or officers potentially violated” use of justifiable force. The prosecutor’s office is also asking that anyone with video or photos contact the agency.
Brown, who broke down after watching the video, said a preliminary investigation is not enough. She wants the officers fired.
Watch her interview with the Delaware News Journal here or below.
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