The altercation happened Nov. 9 at an Altadena gas station, where the officers initially approached 21-year-old Christopher Ballew regarding his vehicle's tinted windows.
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An officer's body camera and a patrol vehicle's dashboard camera recorded the interaction as it escalated into violence. The footage shows the two officers attempting to handcuff Ballew, then using a metal baton to beat him. At one point, one of the policemen points his handgun at Ballew.
According to a police report, the 21-year-old resisted arrest and grabbed the baton. Ballew says he was trying to obey the officers' commands; he was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on an officer.
After reviewing the footage, prosecutors declined to file charges against him.
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"Every night, you know, I wake up at 3 in the morning with the same nightmare about what happened," Ballew said at a news conference. "I've lost sleep every single night since what happened."
"I get anxiety whenever I see a police car," he continued. "Whenever I hear a police siren, my body starts to shake and I start to look around to see if they're coming for me."
Ballew was left with a broken leg and multiple facial injuries after the encounter. His attorneys have filed multiple claims against the city of Pasadena but have not disclosed a monetary amount in damages sought.