HOUSTON --
A man claims he was beaten unconscious by four Houston police officers.
Anthony Childress said he was the target of racial profiling. He has filed a complaint with the Houston Police Department's Internal Affairs Division.
Childress said he had just left a friend's house and was on his bicycle in the 2800 block of Delano on Sunday when he heard someone call him. He said he kept pedaling and was quickly stopped by four police officers.
Childress said the officers never said a word, they just started swinging.
"They hit me on my forehead, hit me on my ear," Childress said. "The Spanish cop and the tall Caucasian cop, they the ones that hit me first."
He said the other officers involved in the alleged incident were white and black. He said he cannot identify them by name.
He said he did not resist and he was beaten until he blacked out. When he regained consciousness, the officers were still hitting him, Childress said.
"I thought I was fixing to die," he said.
Childress said he lost six teeth and needed 56 stitches.
He was treated at Ben Taub Hospital and ended up in jail. He's been charged with possessing more than an ounce of cocaine. He denied having any drugs.
Childress has a long history of arrests on charges of assault, assault with a deadly weapon and drug possession.
He claimed that the officers were the ones who broke the law this time.
"I know what it's like to be harmed by the police," Childress said. "I've just been waiting for that opportunity they hurt me in the wrong way and I could tell somebody about it."
"I'm scared of the law," he said. "We pay ya'll to protect and serve us."
The Houston Police Department declined to comment because of the ongoing investigation.
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