‘How Could They Be Acting in Self Defense While My Hands Were Restrained?’ Riverdale (IL) Cops Sued for Attacking Black Man in Alley after Stopping Him for No Reason

From [HERE] South suburban police officers are accused of using excessive force, hitting a man several times during an arrest.

Dashcam video captured the incident, and the man now suing Riverdale police is speaking out.

Abraham Carmichael said he needs several surgeries to recover from injuries after a run-in with two Riverdale police officers earlier this year.

The lawsuit filed against those officers and their department says Carmichael suffered from "emotional anxiety, fear, humiliation,"

Now, he's calling for justice.

"I felt like I was a punching bag, like a UFC punching bag," Carmichael said.

Police dashcam video from February of this year, obtained by Carmichael's legal team, appears to show a Riverdale police officer hitting Carmichael several times, while Carmichael's hands appear to stay behind his back.

"He just grabbed me, slammed me against that car," Carmichael said. "I felt something hit me on my nose, and I probably, he probably knocked me out for like, a couple of seconds."

Just moments beforehand, Carmichael said he was taking his girlfriend's car to get fixed by a friend. He ran into a man he said he doesn't know, and started a conversation. That's when he said two Riverdale police officers blocked the alley to arrest that man before quickly involving Carmichael.

"I kept asking him, what was going on. 'What did I do wrong?'" Carmichael said.

Carmichael's legal team showed ABC7 Chicago the police report from the incident. It said there was use of force by officers, defining it as defensive tactics.

"I don't know how you can defend yourself against a person whose hands are, who is on the car," Carmichael said.

Carmichael said police called an ambulance, and he was taken to the hospital.

The lawsuit against Riverdale police and the two officers says Carmichael was left with a fractured nose and ribs and several bruises.

Carmichael said the day plays on repeat in his mind.

"I've been scared; they bother my family. I got to take all these medicines now. It's unreal. It's unreal," Carmichael said. "I thought I was gonna get killed."

Carmichael said he thought, after being treated at the hospital, he'd get to go home, but instead he was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice. His lawyer said Carmichael initially pleaded not guilty, but the state's attorney's office later dropped the charges.

"If they doing this to me, they did it to someone else. What are we waiting on? We have a ticking time bomb running the streets," Carmichael said.

Carmichael's legal team said Carmichael spoke with the Riverdale chief of police after the incident, and was told the department did not believe the officers' actions needed discipline.