Family: Miami Police Hogtied Autistic Son

A local family is suing the Miami Police Department, alleging that officers hogtied their 18-year-old autistic son, leaving him brain dead.

Melvin Colindres said he and his family regret the day they called police for help last Tuesday after their son had an emotional outburst that they couldn't control.

Stewart Z. Grossman, an attorney for the family, alleges that once officers arrived at their home, Kevin Colindres was hogtied, preventing oxygen from reaching his brain.

Now, Colindres is in a coma at Coral Gables Hospital. Family members maintain his condition is worsening.

"He had officers on his right shoulder, on his left shoulder (and) across his legs," Grossman said of the incident that the lawsuit claims led to Colindres' condition.

But Miami Police Chief John Timoney paints a different picture of what happened. Timoney said Colindres had been assaulting his mother. He denied, however, that officers hogtied Colindres.

"Hogtying somebody is where you get the handcuffs, tie the ankles and then tie them both together so that the body forms almost like a half moon," Timoney said. "That was not the case."