© Reuters / Jerry Laizure
The death is currently under investigation, and three police officers have been placed on administrative leave as the probe unfolds.
The incident occurred February 14 in Moore, Oklahoma, when an argument erupted between Nair Rodriguez and her daughter Lunahi. Nair slapped her daughter during the dispute and ended up leaving the theater. When Luis Rodriguez chased after his wife in a bid to stop her, law enforcement officials intervened and asked for his identification.
According to NewsOK, police claim that Luis Rodriguez attempted to fight with police and that led to a physical altercation. Nair and Lunahi, however, told local media outlet News9 that allegation is false, and that Luis simply tried to bypass officers to keep his wife from driving off in anger.
As the confrontation escalated, five police officers allegedly beat Luis Rodriguez beyond recognition, a situation captured on a video by Nair's cell phone.
"They jumped on him like he was some kind of killer or drug dealer and beat him up," Lunahi Rodriguez said to NewsOK. "He never fought the officers, they beat him on the head and that's how he lost his breath."
"When they flipped him over you could see all the blood on his face, it was, he was disfigured, you couldn't recognize him," she added to News9.
Although paramedics were already at the scene responding to a separate incident, Luis Rodriguez could not be revived. According to Nair Rodriguez, it was clear her husband had died as soon as the beating was over.
"I saw him. His [motionless] body when people carry it to the stretcher. I knew that he was dead," she said.
Afterwards, police asked Nair what happened and she said her husband was just trying to break up a fight between her and her daughter.
According to a spokesman for the Moore Police Department, police confiscated Nair Rodriguez's phone as evidence, though it's unclear whether or not they've watched the video yet.
The Rodriguez family said it plans to hire an attorney and take legal action.
"The Rodriguez family said it plans to hire an attorney and take legal action"
no matter what he did, no matter what he said, police training is to beat you to death as the Kelly Thomas verdict has proven, if the cops want to they have the legal authority to beat you too death for anything they deem necessary. they can even taunt you prior to the act as we also learned in the Thomas trial. "see these fists? they are gonna fuck you up"
and it's legal, welcome to the USSA.