MBN AGENTS ABUSIVE, PAIR SAY

An attorney representing two men who claim they were beaten by a
Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agent and a police officer after being
stopped and questioned about drugs, says both his clients and
witnesses said the alleged abuse was unprovoked.

Attorney Robert Smith on Wednesday said Cornelius Manuel and Marcus
Herrington, both in their early 20s, were stopped last week as they
innocently walked down a Jackson street.

Smith said his clients told the officers they didn't have any drugs,
and the officers handcuffed the two men, beat them and physically
pried Herrington's mouth open.

Bobby Grimes, enforcement commander for the MBN, told The Associated
Press that the agency is conducting an internal investigation.
"There's two sides of every story and we're going to listen to our
agents before we say anything publicly," he said.

Jackson Police Department spokesman Robert Graham said internal
affairs will investigate if the men file a complaint.

Linda Warner, who lives near where the alleged incident occurred, said
she saw the exchange and the officers didn't have a reason to get
physical with the two men.

"I could hear him hollering 'You're hurting me,'" she said.

Warner said the men did not appear to resist the officers.

Smith said no drugs were found on his clients, but that they were made
to walk to one of the police department's satellite precincts several
blocks away.

At the precinct, Smith said the officers beat them again. The men
later were released with no charges.

Smith said Manuel was treated at a local hospital for injuries.

According to the attorney, Manuel was kept waiting for about two hours
and then served an arrest warrant accusing him of felony simple
assault of a police officer. Smith said his client did nothing to
justify the charge.