SARASOTA (WWSB) – Community members took their concerns to the Sarasota City Commission on Wednesday after they say they witnessed an incident of police brutality in Newtown.
Video shows Sarasota Police conducting a traffic stop on Sunday, February 17. A crowd quickly gathers around officers as several of them force a man to the ground and attempt to restrain him.
Witnesses can be heard telling officers that the man, 40-year-old Govinda Howell of Sarasota, is handicapped. His family says he suffers from a mental disorder and was unable to comply because he was scared and unaware of what was happening.
Jason Bradley was there. He says he saw the police hitting and choking Howell.
“You can hear me on there saying, ‘The guy is handicapped, the guy is handicapped.’ So from there on the cops ended up grabbing him, throwing him to the ground. I saw physical blows with six guys on one guy, punching him,” he described.
Gilda Williams, woman who raised Howell, says he’s now in a coma at the ICU.
“It’s about that boy’s life. I’m not standing here for any money. I’m standing up for him, that he gets better. I hope he wakes up; I hope he opens his eyes. That’s what I want,” she said.
Read the rest and see the video here: http://www.mysuncoast.com/2019/02/20/family-says-police-used-excessive-force-year-old-man-with-mental-disabilities-2/