Cleveland cop charged with beating suspect

CLEVELAND, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A Cleveland police officer appeared in court Tuesday to face charges he assaulted a handcuffed Texas man with a baton.

Officer John Browning was booked and then released on bond Monday after surrendering to authorities who had charged him with a felony in the alleged beating of the victim.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer said Browning, a 15-year veteran of the force, was the first Cleveland officer to be charged with the use of excessive force in recent memory.

The newspaper said Browning allegedly whacked Michael Fykes, 43, Arlington, with a folding baton in the parking lot of a Cleveland motel. The incident was captured on the motel's surveillance cameras.

Police said Fykes was drunk and disorderly in the motel lobby and had to be restrained and pepper-sprayed after becoming combative.