MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – “I can’t believe this [expletive]. I really can’t believe this [expletive],” Khalid Vaughn says, with blood dripping down his face.
He was pleading with Miami Beach police officers that he did nothing wrong.
Vaughn was using his cellphone inside the Royal Palm Hotel on South Beach to record the arrest of another man on July 26 when he was taken down by police.
Five Miami Beach officers were charged with battery and three now face felony charges for their actions on that night.
And now, for the first time, we are seeing disturbing video obtained exclusively by Local 10 News of what happened after the arrests, when police officers seem to be taunting a bloodied, handcuffed Vaughn before one took a swig of the man’s Gatorade.
Vaughn had been filming the tough takedown of Dalonta Crudup, who was accused of a scooter parking violation and hitting an officer.
Crudup ran into the lobby of the hotel. He was brought down at gunpoint and had his head slammed to the ground. Prosecutors shared video showing he was also kicked in the head.
Vaughn, in the lobby, whipped out his cell phone to record the incident and was taken down by police.
“You all beat me for no reason,” Vaughn said in the new bodycam video obtained by Local 10 News.
“We beat you for a reason,” one responded.
“I didn’t resist. I wasn’t arrested,” Vaughn replied.
“I backed up. You all said back up. Somebody said 20 feet and I backed up. And what happened? All of you charged me and beat me.”
An officer was heard telling him to “stop crying.”
“Stop crying? Look at my face. You all did that [expletive] for no reason,” Vaughn said.
“You chose your destiny,” an officer said.
“I did not. I backed up,” Vaughn said. “That’s kind of crazy. What do you mean I chose my destiny? I backed up.”
Video that had been earlier released showed that Vaughn did appear to comply with officers’ commands to back up before he was tackled.
Someone was even heard telling Vaughn to go back to New York where he is from.
According to prosecutors, one of the officers charged with battery is also seen on video taking Vaughn’s Gatorade and gulping it down, even making noises of delight afterward.
“Can you take me to the hospital? I can feel myself bleeding,” Vaughn is heard saying as the officer takes a gulp.
“I don’t know what you are getting out of that,” he said to the officer.
“I’m getting hydrated,” the officer replied.
The state attorney’s office would later agree with Vaughn that he followed police commands and did nothing wrong, dropping his charges.
Local 10 News reached out to Miami Beach police for comment and they sent the following response:
”We remain committed to the process and allowing the investigation to take its course.”