JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The mother of a 21-year-old man who claimed he was brutalized during his arrest in April says charges of battery on a law enforcement officer have been dropped.
Daniel Nyman was arrested during an April 26 incident at UF Health Jacksonville.
The charges were in relation to an alleged conflict at the hospital that was caught on camera. Police say it's what the video doesn't show that tells a different story.
Nyman's family told News4Jax that he was out of control at UF Health Jacksonville and they called police. The family said the way he was taken into custody was an instance of police "brutality."
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Nyman continually swore at a police officer, who was telling him to leave. But Julie Yarbrough, Nyman's mother, says the way he was arrested was too brutal.
UNCUT: Video captures arrest outside UF Health
The video shows an officer forcibly taking Nyman down, then his mother rushes toward them and, at that point, she's taken down by another officer.
"Oh, it was definitely police brutality. Yes. It was over excessive. My son's 100 pounds. This guy's 300 pounds, and there was multiple officers around that could've helped contain the situation," Yarbrough said.
According to the police report, both Officer T. James and Nyman appear to accuse each other of spitting. During the takedown, Yarbrough says the officer was pushing her son’s face into the concrete, and she ran over because he recently had jaw surgery.
"First thing he started doing was grinding his head into the cement, which is where his broken jaw and all was. My dad was screaming, 'He has a broken jaw.' I was screaming, 'He has a broken jaw.' The guy, like I said, used way too much restraint. My son is smaller then I am," Yarbrough said.
News4Jax has learned that Nyman has had recent problems with police, finding that the April arrest was the second time that he’s been committed for psychiatric evaluation in the last few weeks.