Local media reports indicate the police were dispatched to a residence at 523 First St. for a noise complaint at roughly 4 a.m. local time on March 16. Bodycam footage picks up as Officer Matthew Seeber arrives at the home with backup, requesting that the front door be opened.
Frustrated, Seeber kicks the the door in after his requests for it to be opened are rejected. Lee Childs, who was standing at the home's entrance, is quickly pulled from the home and pushed toward two other officers, one of whom appears to repeatedly kick him. Throughout this encounter, the unidentified officer hits Childs as he yells out, "Put your hands behind your back now."
As Childs is being handled by other officers, Seeber is heard instructing another individual in the home to "back up… back the f**k up." Persons in the home were ultimately instructed to leave the grounds.
Citing a police report, local news station NEWS 10 reported that as people exited the residence, 26-year-old Mario Luis-Gorostiza reportedly encouraged others to fight with responding officers. Video shows Luis-Gorostiza later being zeroed in on by officers, who appear to punch, kick and shove him to the ground.
During this time, a bystander can be heard yelling, "Don't kick him! Just cuff him!"
And then there's 27-year-old Armando Sanchez, who, according to NEWS 10, was exiting the home when Officer Luke Deer spotted him and began to attack him.
Sanchez was standing in the street with both of his arms raised in the air when Deer approached him, video shows. For unknown reasons, Deer violently shoves Sanchez to the ground, and when Sanchez manages to jump back up, the officer punches him multiple times.
At one point in the recording, it appears as though Deer uses his department-issued baton to strike Sanchez in the head.
Later, after Sanchez is lying on the ground and handcuffed, Deer is recorded targeting another individual at a distance. Deer is then told to "take a f**king second" and "chill the f**k out" by a fellow officer, who eventually instructs him to place Sanchez inside a police cruiser.
Childs, Luis-Gorostiza and Sanchez were all charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration. However, after bodycam footage was reviewed, the Albany County District Attorney's Office dropped the charges, citing insufficient evidence.
Michael Feit, lawyer for Luis-Gorostiza, told the Times-Union that "you witnessed the beginning of justice."
"There's no doubt there was a loud party. [But] that's not a reason to kick someone's door down and beat three people," he added.
An internal investigation by the Albany Police Department was launched shortly after the weekend incident. Deer was suspended immediately after the department caught wind of his behavior, and two other officers, including Seeber, were subsequently suspended without pay. The third officer has not yet been identified.
In addition to the suspension, Deer has been charged with felony assault and a misdemeanor count of official misconduct, according to the Times-Union. He has pleaded not guilty, and is expected to appear in court on Monday.
