HOUSTON – A family is demanding answers from the Houston Police after they claim their son was the victim of excessive force.
Joseph Roberts, 21, says he was run down by two HPD officers who hit him with their patrol car on April 16. The incident has left Roberts with a shattered pelvis, broken ribs and is in constant pain.
Roberts was riding in a car with another man when HPD officers tried to pull them over. Roberts says the driver of the car crashed into a ditch. At that point, Roberts got out of the car with his hands raised.
That's when he says an HPD patrol car ran him down, hit him, backed up and then drove over him again.
"I seen the car coming. He ran me straight over," Roberts said. "He ran me over. I was lying down. He backed the car up off me and he tried to hit me again. I was screaming and stuff and they handcuffed me and I was punched in the eye."
HPD's responded to Roberts' claims with the following statement:
"The Houston Police Department takes allegations of excessive force seriously. The citizen in this case, Joseph Roberts, has filed a complaint and the department's Internal Affairs Division is investigating the allegations thoroughly. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, HPD will withhold any further comment on the matter until the conclusion of the investigation.
Any citizen who feels he or she is treated unfairly or unjustly is encouraged to file a complaint, which will be thoroughly investigated by the department's Internal Affairs Division. Citizens can do so by filing a complaint at any police station, by mail, online, or at an expanded number of locations, including the NAACP and LULAC."