MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- New information has been released in the case of a Murfreesboro man who was beaten in his own yard by police who were frantically searching for a suspect, only police had the wrong man.
Joseph Sushak was at his Minerva Drive home when officers came to his neighborhood, looking for a suspect who was Asian, and thirty years younger than the Nigerian-born MTSU grad.
Police statements obtained by NewsChannel 5 show the moments of confusion that lead up to mistake.
One officer said the suspect description went out initially as a "black male." Two officers, Chris Woodard and Anthony Skok, were the first to apprehend Sushak. They both said they approached with weapons drawn and ordered him to lie down. They said that Sushak complied, but when they attempted to cuff Sushak, they claim that he wouldn't put his hands behind his back.
One of the officers who'd actually seen the suspect, arrived moments later to find Sushak with a swollen eye, and informed his fellow lawmen that they had the wrong man.