Pittsburgh police are defending - but also promising to investigate - the arrest of a man at a halfway house who was hit with batons after police say he resisted efforts by staff to search him for drugs.
City police called a news conference Monday after surveillance video of the August incident was leaked to Pittsburgh TV stations.
The attorney for inmate Lonnie Jenkins is calling the incident an unprovoked "assault.''
But Assistant Chief Maurita Bryant and Cmdr. Eric Holmes say police have reviewed the video and don't believe excessive force was used.
The two officers involved remain on normal duty while the city's Office of Municipal Investigation reviews the incident. The Citizen Police Review Board, which fields complaints from the public, is also investigating.
