Local News in Brief : San Diego
Two San Diego police officers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony assault charges that they beat and kicked a handcuffed drug suspect after chasing him into a Southeast San Diego cemetery.
David A. Nellis and Mark L. Keyser appeared before Municipal Judge Charles L. Patrick, who allowed them to remain free on their own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing in January.
The officers were arraigned on charges that, on Sept. 18, they chased Anthony Beals to the cemetery, where they cuffed his hands behind his back and ordered him to lie on his stomach. Beals has said that the officers then hit and kicked him in the head and ribs.
Nellis, 29, and Keyser, 30, have been taken off uniformed duty and placed on administrative assignment, Cmdr. Cal Krosch said Wednesday.
He said Internal Affairs investigation into the alleged beating has been concluded, but that it has not yet been determined whether discipline, if any, will be handed down.
Krosch said that Police Department procedure calls for dismissing an officer charged with a felony crime. He said he was not at liberty to say why Nellis and Keyser have not yet been removed from the department.
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