A North Carolina police department is investigating the use of force by two officers during a traffic stop in which they were recorded kneeing a driver, punching his back and dragging him out of the car by his neck.Braily Andres Batista-Concepcion , 22, was arrested Tuesday as police stopped him in connection with three hit-and-run crashes earlier that day, Raleigh police said in a statement Wednesday. One 911 caller noted that a driver hit her car, then backed up and attempted to hit her again, according to calls obtained by news outlets. Another caller said a similar car hit them twice before taking off. The suspect was also accused of hitting a pole.
An officer pulled over a car matching the description and driving erratically, the police news release said.
The driver, Batista, appeared to be impaired while transporting three passengers, police noted.
Raleigh police alleged Batista ignored commands and failed to get out of the car. Batista contends he told officers he was going to get out, but officers started hitting him.
"They hit me so bad I forgot everything," he told the News & Observer on Wednesday.
Batista was visibly bloodied and bruised while speaking with reporters outside his home. He added that he doesn't remember hitting the cars and denied that he had been smoking marijuana.
He is charged with two counts of hit-and-run with property damage, failure to report an accident, driving while impaired, resisting a public officer, possession of up to a half-ounce of marijuana and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
The department said it plans to ask a judge to allow the release of body-worn and dashboard camera video, WRAL-TV reported.