Son of man who died in Louisiana police custody demands answers after cellphone video surfaces

Shreveport Police Department Chief Ben Raymond said Monday four officers were on administrative leave and an investigation was underway into the death of Tommie McGlothen Jr., pictured here.

The son of a man who died in April while allegedly in the custody of Louisiana police is demanding answers after cell phone video of his father’s death surfaced.

According to KSLA News, which first obtained the cell phone video, Tommie McGlothen III suspected for two months that the police’s story about his father’s death in Shreveport, a city in northwest Louisiana, didn’t add up.

McGlothen III said police told the family that Tommie McGlothen Jr. died of a heart attack, but when they viewed his body, his nose and jaw were broken and the right side of his face was swollen.

“I just wanted to know what happened,” McGlothen III said.

In the four-minute video, a white male police officer and a black female officer wrestle McGlothen Jr. to the ground. The white officer then hits the man while the black officer tries to hold him down. The white officer then kicks McGlothen Jr. while the black officer gets back up.

The white officer then punches McGlothen Jr. multiple times after trying to roll him over to handcuff him. McGlothen Jr. begins screaming, but is obscured by a car. Witnesses say he was Tased multiple times.

“He’s locking up. They tasing him, oh somebody came and hit him,” McGlothen III said while watching the video, according to KSLA News.

After more punches and being Tased several more times, another officer who has arrived at the scene hits McGlothen Jr. multiple times with a baton.

After McGlothen Jr. is stood up, an officer shoves him to the ground. He is then stood up again and walked to police car while handcuffed and, according to witnesses, spits in the face of the black female officer who punches him in the face twice. He then allegedly fell and hit his head on the pavement.

When he is put into the car McGlothen Jr. slumps over and sits motionless. According to witnesses, a second video shows an ambulance arrive but it leaves without its sirens being turned on.

Shreveport Police Department Chief Ben Raymond said Monday four officers were on administrative leave and an investigation was underway.

The McGlothen family has hired an attorney to represent them, according to KSLA News.