Pubdate: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 Source: Clarion-Ledger, The (MS) Copyright: 2004 The Clarion-Ledger Contact: http://www.clarionledger.com/about/letters.html Website: http://www.clarionledger.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/805 Author: Associated Press MBN AGENTS ABUSIVE, PAIR SAY An attorney representing two men who claim they were beaten by a Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agent and a police officer after being stopped and questioned about drugs, says both his clients and witnesses said the alleged abuse was unprovoked. Attorney Robert Smith on Wednesday said Cornelius Manuel and Marcus Herrington, both in their early 20s, were stopped last week as they innocently walked down a Jackson street. Smith said his clients told the officers they didn't have any drugs, and the officers handcuffed the two men, beat them and physically pried Herrington's mouth open. Bobby Grimes, enforcement commander for the MBN, told The Associated Press that the agency is conducting an internal investigation. "There's two sides of every story and we're going to listen to our agents before we say anything publicly," he said. Jackson Police Department spokesman Robert Graham said internal affairs will investigate if the men file a complaint. Linda Warner, who lives near where the alleged incident occurred, said she saw the exchange and the officers didn't have a reason to get physical with the two men. "I could hear him hollering 'You're hurting me,'" she said. Warner said the men did not appear to resist the officers. Smith said no drugs were found on his clients, but that they were made to walk to one of the police department's satellite precincts several blocks away. At the precinct, Smith said the officers beat them again. The men later were released with no charges. Smith said Manuel was treated at a local hospital for injuries. According to the attorney, Manuel was kept waiting for about two hours and then served an arrest warrant accusing him of felony simple assault of a police officer. Smith said his client did nothing to justify the charge. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin