Connecticut Man Claims Police Brutality
Controversy Over Police Surveillance Tape In West Haven

A Connecticut man says he is the victim of police brutality and an alleged cover-up. The entire incident was all caught on camera.

William Ruiz says the trouble began with a complaint about unplowed snow near his business on Locust Street. It is a construction firm well-guarded by hidden cameras. One of which caught a confrontation with West Haven officer Steven Turtzo who ordered Ruiz to remove a snow pile.

Ruiz says he demanded to talk to Turtzo’s supervisor.

"He grabbed me to push me over to go and clean the snow up. But I was doing what he told me. He goes ahead and puts me down on the ground. He then hit me with the baton, " say Ruiz, the alleged victim.

"I see cleary excessive force," says Anthony Wallace who is Ruiz’s attorney.

But West Have police look at the same sequence and see a cop using reasonable force in the face of resistance.

"He operated correctly. It clearly shows Mr. Ruiz clearly resisted arrest," says Angelo Moscato of the West Haven police.

What most disturbs Ruiz’s lawyer is what happened after the confrontation. West Haven Det. Brian Reilly got a search warrant to seize the surveillance video. Ruiz claims Reilly intentionally erased the images of the confrontation for the computer hard drive.

However, a backup hard drive preserved the evidence Ruiz claims cops tried to erase.

"What they are doing is just covering it up themselves," says Ruiz.

West Haven police say they will conduct a full investigation into the allegations of a coverup as soon as Ruiz files a formal complaint. Ruiz and his attorney are preparing to do just that.