ROSS FLYNN: ‘I was mercilessly beaten’ while in police custody
The man who took a beating from Las Cruces Police officers while handcuffed in a holding cell continued his testimony in court Wednesday.
Ross Flynn told jurors he had no recollection of what happened moments after the incident. Video shows two officers enter his cell and throw him against the wall and onto the floor.
Flynn suffered a brain hemorrhage, a cracked skull and several cracked ribs.
One of the officers, Richard Garcia, is on trial for what happened that night. He faces one count of aggravated battery resulting in great bodily injury.
(Former LCPD Officer Richard Garcia)
Danny Salcido, the other officer in the video, will stand trial in three weeks.
Before officers entered the cell, Flynn said he kicked the door to get their attention because his back was in pain. He says he couldn’t lift his hands to knock. He says that’s when officers threatened to chain him to a bench. Flynn says he told them, “go ahead and chain me.”
That’s when Flynn says the officers stormed his cell and he was “mercilessly beaten.” The prosecution says it was an unwarranted, violent attack.
“Mr. Flynn’s actions did not justify the defendant and certainly the defendant’s badge doesn’t justify his actions either,” assistant attorney general Nicholas Gilbert said.
Defense Attorney Jess Lilley argues Garcia was trying to chain Flynn to the bench. He says Flynn was being disrespectful and demanding. Lilley says Garcia was trying to de-escalate the situation.
“So he sits there not getting his answers once in cuffed not being respectful after be accommodated with double handcuffed belly chains doing nothing but escalating, his attitude is escalating,” Lilley said.
“I was trying to comply with what they wanted but one was pulling me one way, one was pulling me the other. They didn’t seem to be able to coordinate their attack,” Flynn said.
Flynn says he does not remember EMTs entering the cell shortly after the incident. He says his memory blacked out until he was being transported to the hospital.
To this day, he says he suffers from PTSD and blackouts.
If convicted, Garcia faces up to 3 years in prison. The police department fired both officers.
