HOUSTON – A man who METRO police said should not have been beaten with a baton was released from jail Friday night and taken to the hospital after charges against him were dropped.
Why Giles was hospitalized wasn't made immediately available.
The METRO police officer at the center of an investigation into allegations of excessive force has been suspended without pay, and a second officer at the scene has been suspended with pay, according to the agency’s police chief.
According to investigators, Officer Jairus Warren approached 31-year-old Darrell Giles, who was slumped over in a seat at the Burnett Station platform Wednesday morning. After a confrontation, Warren beat Giles with a baton.
METRO Police Chief Vera Bumpers said that after Warren and another officer at the scene, identified as Daniel Reynoso, reported a use-of-force incident, a supervisor reviewed video taken by security cameras at the station.
Bumpers said the video showed Warren beating Giles, but she was not able to determine how many times he was struck. Giles’ attorney said her client was hit more than a dozen times.
“One is too many, in my opinion, if it's not justified," Bumpers said.
The video did not show any use of force by Reynoso, Bumpers said.
Giles' mother, Ossie Giles, said she was shocked when she learned of the incident.
"When I seen him on the news, my blood pressure shot through the roof," she said.
Ossie Giles said the only thing her son can be accused of is sleeping on a bench at a train stop.
"It still hurt[s] my heart every time I see it, that they beat my child like that," she said.
Black Lives Matter has demanded that the video be released. Bumpers said it won't be released until the investigation is complete. The group has threatened to occupy the agency’s headquarters until its demands are met.
Bumpers said she apologizes to Giles for anything that he feels was inappropriate. She said she will not tolerate excessive force, and the agency’s policy is to treat everyone with respect.
Originally, Giles was charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass. Those charges were dropped Friday, according to court records.
Bumpers said there had been no previous complaints of excessive force against Warren.
Giles is expected to recover from his injuries, Bumpers said.