CEDAR RAPIDS - A Cedar Rapids man claims the police department over-stepped its authority and attacked him when he did nothing wrong.
It was Friday just before midnight on June 26th.
Alfred Holliday was at an apartment complex near Kirkwood Community College.
"And I'm sitting in my vehicle and he runs up to me and he says get out of the car. I didn't right away and told him I was setting up my daughters meds, and he said get out of the car and he reached in," said Holliday.
It started when someone called Kirkwood security to report a man with a gun in the parking lot. The Cedar Rapids Police Department said Kirkwood then called them, and pointed to Holliday's car.
"When he put his hands on me, I got out of the vehicle. I didn't resist," said Holliday.
But yet, police used a taser against Holliday.
Police were looking for a gun. SGT Cristy Hamblin with the Cedar Rapids Police Department said Holliday didn't cooperate.
"So we did ask him to turn around and comply, numerous times, to comply with our requests. And the whole time he refused. And then at that point officers deployed their electronic control devices," said Hamblin.
Hamblin said it would be foolish of them not to search any possible suspects because of the seriousness of the call.
As it turns out, officers never found a gun on Holliday. And he says that night, those officers didn't want to listen to him.
"I listened to officers say stuff like there had been a murder earlier tonight. So they were really hopped up. You know what, I didn't kill anybody," said Holliday.
Hamblin said the officers were probably aware there was still a murder suspect on the loose in the city. But she didn't know if that played a role in the way police responded in this incident. Hamblin said the murder and this incident were on opposite sides of the city, and happened hours apart.
Hamblin said officers have the right to respond reasonably when they're called for service.
But, Holliday claims their actions weren't reasonable. And he's filed a complaint against the police department.
Internal Affairs will take that up after Holliday faces his charge of interference with official acts.
Holliday's next court date is August 28th.
Email Justin Foss at Justin.Foss@kcrg.com
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