A South Florida police officer was convicted of kicking a handcuffed man in the head, breaking his nose, then claiming in his report the man fell down on his own.
Kwesi Alleyne resigned from the Hollywood Police Department to avoid termination and is now serving a year of probation as well as attending anger management classes after he was convicted of misdemeanor battery and falsifying records earlier this year.
Photos of the 36-year-old victim, Howard Fabian, show him with a bloody and broken nose.
The incident took place in November 2017 and the only reason Alleyne was charged nearly a year later was because it was captured on surveillance video.
He was convicted in February 2019, court records show, but the video is just now coming to light after it was obtained by WSVN.
According to the affidavit, Hollywood police confronted a group of men who had gathered in public and were recording a video. Police said the group had drugs and a machete.
They said Fabian took off running which is when Alleyne gave chase. The surveillance video shows Fabian stops running and turns to face the officer which is when the cop strikes him in the face, knocking him down.
Alleyne then places handcuffs on Fabian who is now laying facedown on the ground, which is when Alleyne kicks him in the face as a patrol car pulls up.
Alleyne did not mention the kick in his report. Instead, he wrote the following:
“While in pursuit both myself and the defendant … both tripped (without making contact with each other). The defendant struck his face on pavement as a result of tripping. After falling to the ground, I place 1 hand restraint on the defendant … at which point he began to start pulling away from my grasp and attempting to stand up. I (Officer Kwesi Alleyne) delivered 1 open handed strike to the side of the defendant’s face as a distractionatory technique to regain control. As a result of tripping, independent of my (Officer Allyene) actions, the defendant … sustained a laceration to his nose.”
Hollywood Police Chief Chris O’Brien provided the following statement to WSVN:
“As soon as this incident was brought to my attention, I took immediate action, relieving him of all departmental duties and initiating an Internal Affairs investigation which led to the officer being charged criminally. We hold our duties to the community and the people we serve to the highest standards and with the utmost integrity. The unacceptable acts committed by this individual do not exemplify our core values and in no way represents the professionalism and dedication demonstrated by our officers on a daily basis. Not only do I hold our officers to the highest moral, professional and ethical standards, the officers are expected to hold themselves to these same standards. The Police Department has checks and balances in place to ensure officers who commit unprofessional and criminal acts are identified and held accountable for their actions. This was a self-initiated investigation directly resulting from the checks and balances currently in place.”
Alleyne pleaded no contest and was convicted on the two charges and is now serving a year probation. He was also ordered to attend 13 weeks of anger management classes.
Watch the (A South Florida police officer was convicted of kicking a handcuffed man in the head, breaking his nose, then claiming in his report the man fell down on his own.)
