MILWAUKEE, WI — The family of 24-year-old Nicholas Beamon arrived at Milwaukee's District Five police station seeking answers and accountability after a video of his arrest was viewed thousands of times online.
Both the Beamon family and Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman responded to the video, which shows what the family describes as excessive use of force during a traffic stop.
"There was no reason for excessive force," Sirseal Wright, Nicholas' mom, said.
Police say they arrested an armed Beamon near Palmer and Keefe last week during a daytime traffic stop over a license plate violation. Video shows two officers struggling to wrestle a handcuffed Beamon to the ground, with police claiming he was resisting.
Watch the Full Story below
A third officer then enters the frame, and video shows multiple punches delivered by two officers.
TMJ4 News has not received permission from the owner of the video, which has been widely viewed online.
Beamon's attorney, B'Ivory LaMarr, criticized the length of time it may take to review the footage.
"It takes 30 seconds to watch the video. It shouldn't take 30 days or longer or three months to tell us the result of a 30-second video," B'Ivory LaMarr said.
LaMarr is calling on leadership to address whether the officers' conduct was consistent with department guidelines.
"We want leadership to come in place and to actually address, is this consistent with the police practices in the city, or is this something that missed the mark? We don't wanna dance around it," LaMarr said.
Court records show a Nicholas Beamon was charged Tuesday with a misdemeanor for carrying a concealed weapon.
LaMarr wants the district attorney to review the officers' actions.
"This family believes that what took place on Thursday involving these officers was also criminal. So we're asking the district attorney's office to similarly look and evaluate those actions as well," LaMarr said.
Chief Norman says the arrest is under review. I asked Norman for a timeline and whether the department has its own video to review.
"Thoroughness doesn't come overnight and when you're having interviews and making sure that you're covering all the bases. Video what not, uh, it is important that as I get it, I wanna know the totality of it. So as soon as possible," Norman said.
Norman says he has not seen the video of the arrest circulating on social media but suggested there are multiple different sources of videos.
"I really ask for our public to make sure that as we are looking at these particular situations, asking the question of what am I missing, what's more to be reported? We believe in being thorough," Norman said.
Beamon's family wants Norman to release all videos, including body cam footage, as soon as possible.
This story was reported on-air by Charles Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
