MELBOURNE, Fla -- The family of an elderly Melbourne with dementia man
says they plan on suing the police department -- all over a violent
confrontation that was caught on camera.
The dash camera video shows
66-year-old Albert Flowers being kicked by Melbourne officer Derek
Middendorf back in October. Flowers was also punched repeatedly, and
another officer used a stun gun to shoot him in the face.
Police
reports said the officer was investigating a call about an argument at
the time. Officer Middendorf said Flowers was acting aggressively and
refused to stop at a safe distance.
But the man's family said they're horrified and that the officer went too far.
"I
know he has a job to do, but when you take it above and beyond after
being warned that he has dementia when you are warning that he has
dementia and be brutal like that it's criminal," said Flowers' son
Carlos.
News 13 contacted Melbourne Police. They referred us to a
spokesperson for the city who said because no complaint has been filed
yet, they have nothing to respond to.
They do say though the officer
turned off his camera before the incident - but the video was still able
to be retrieved from a hard drive.
A hearing is set for Wednesday.
Meanwhile,
the city says Officer Middendorf is still employed with the police
department, but is currently off the job after an unrelated injury - 15
January 2012