The attorney for the men charged in a scuffle with Miami Police at the scene of their brother's fatal shooting last month is asking for prosecutors to drop the charges, saying an officer "overreacted" when he punched one of his clients.
Anthony Walker, 28, has been charged with battery on an officer and resisting an officer with violence in the April 8 incident at the scene where brother Brandon Walker was killed.
His other brother, Antwan Walker, has been charged with resisting an officer without violence.
Police and Bystander Fight After Fatal Shooting
But attorney Larry Handfield wants prosecutors to drop the charges against the brothers, saying they were overcome with grief the day they ran past police tape at the murder scene in Overtown.
"He was trying to go get his brother to comfort his brother when all of a sudden he realized that he was corralled by the detective and then being punched," Handfield said Wednesday.
Footage from the scene showed the officer, Det. Fernando Bosch, punch Anthony Walker during the confrontation. Miami Police say they're investigating the incident and that Det. Bosch is still assigned to normal duties. Miami Police spokesman Sgt. Freddie Cruz also said the men were violent and hostile toward the officers.
VIDEO: Man Charged In Scuffle With Police Leaves Jail
In a statement last month, the Miami Fraternal Order of Police defended Bosch's actions that day.
"While Detective Bosch attempts to subdue the subject, he grabs him by the tie and continues to resist,” said the police union’s president, Sgt. Javier Ortiz, in a statement. “The subject then raises his hands with clenched fists and is within striking distance of Detective Bosch."
Handfield disagreed, saying the video shows Walker is innocent.
"The officer was never in compromise, he was never being threatened," Handfield said. "The tape shows that he pretty much overreacted, considering that someone had a loved one on the ground that had been murdered."
Anthony Walker, a minister at the New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church in Miami, was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday but his hearing was postponed.
Handfield said he hopes there won't be a need for a hearing.
"All you'd have to do is look at the video tape and speak to all the witnesses out there, you'll see there was no basis to arrest them," he said.
Photo Credit: Miami-Dade Corrections