LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Charges have been dropped against a man who was captured on video being beaten by Palm Beach County deputies while being arrested.
Christopher Connelly was initially charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
But the case took a turn after videos of the February rough arrest surfaced.
Newly released body camera footage shows deputies responding to a call about a man refusing to leave a property in Lake Worth and causing a disturbance.
Officers said the man, identified as Connelly, was apparently under the influence.
They’re heard giving him multiple verbal commands, but Connelly refused to follow them.
Moments later, he made a run towards the property.
Witnesses recorded as deputies forced him down and struck him repeatedly.
Connelly is now being represented by attorney Pat Wilson.
“There will be a lot of people who see this video and say, ‘Hey, he had plenty of chances to leave and he didn’t.’ How do you respond to that?” Local 10 News’ Christian De La Rosa asked Wilson last week.
“Even if an officer tells someone to leave and they don’t, or tells them to leave and they run away, it doesn’t mean you get to beat them up and repeatedly hit him in the head,” Wilson responded.
Local 10 News reached out to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.