Boynton Beach, Fla., Police Chief Jeffrey Katz revealed Tuesday that he asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Palm Beach County State Attorney's office to investigate the use of force in an arrest last year, but Katz said he fully supports the methods officers used in making the arrest.
The arrest occurred in August 2014 following a high-speed chase in which a Boynton Beach police officer was seriously injured.
When the chase ended and the officers surrounded the car, an officer can be seen on a video kicking one of the suspects who was on the ground. The video came from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office helicopter that was called in to assist in the chase, WPTV reports.
"This guy tried to kill one of our officers, one of our officers he believed he killed, ran from our officers, endangered the public, and our officers exercised their duty to take him into custody in whatever way they need to," the chief said in a morning news conference.
Police said at the time of the arrest 26-year-old Byron Harris was driving a Mitsubishi sedan at about 2 a.m. on North Seacrest Boulevard when he dumped a white powder out the window. They said he then sped toward I-95, hitting a marked police car, striking officer Jeff Williams.
Katz said Williams' spine was broken in two places and his face was disfigured. He said Williams is still in pain and undergoing physical therapy. He said Williams is working to return to full duty.
