LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Months after a rough arrest was caught on camera in Palm Beach County, the man beaten by police is now filing suit against the agency.
Christopher Connelly is speaking out for the first time after the violent encounter with three Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
“I suffer from severe PTSD, I have nightmares all the time,” he said. “I was incarcerated wrongfully and was beat up to the point where I couldn’t even walk for a month.”
Connelly’s attorneys say they have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against deputies Zachary Hall, Christopher Byrne, and Vinroy Hylton for using unwarranted, excessive force while their client was restrained.
Connelly says he has suffered traumatic injuries as a result.
“They broke my nose, dislocated my shoulder, dislocated by thumb, and I woke up in a hospital chained to a bed,” he said.
It happened back on Feb. 13 shortly after midnight in Lake Worth.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a disturbance call. Connelly says he was trying to retrieve his belongings from a home he used to share with his then-girlfriend.
Once deputies arrived, he spoke with them. They say Connelly was under the influence and more deputies arrived on scene, saying he was refusing to leave.
According to Connelly, he felt like his life was in danger and he started running.
“I’m surrounded by four guys that are closing in on you to hurt you,” he said.
Deputies’ body worn cameras captured the take down, and from there, Connelly is seen getting punched repeatedly while pinned to the ground.
The beating lasted for over a minute.
Connelly’s face was left battered and bloodied, and he was taken to the hospital as a result.
Connelly was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest, but all charges were dropped in April.
His attorney Adante Pointer with Lawyers for the People out of California, spoke about what they are doing.
“We filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in order to give him the best shot at justice and to hold these officers accountable,” said Pointer.
Added Connelly: “I watch it over and over again and I cry myself to sleep. I have to deal with the embarrassment of my family watching it, my own mom watching it. How do you think my mom feels?”
Connelly’s attorneys also pointed out that he was not armed.
Connelly wants the deputies involved removed from the job.
Local 10 News reached out to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office for comment but have not received one as of the time of this story’s publishing.