MIAMI BEACH (WSVN) -- A South Florida police officer has been suspended after allegations of excessive force. He is now under investigation by the Miami Beach Police Department and federal authorities.
On June 26, Andrew Mossberg was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail after he was allegedly beaten by Miami Beach Police Detective Philippe Archer. "He looked like his face had gone through a meat grinder," said Mossberg's attorney Edward O'Donnell.
Cell phone video from a witness captured Mossberg laying on the sidewalk, handcuffed and struggling to get up. Archer, who was undercover at the time, is seen wearing a blue shirt.
Mossberg said, his client was simply trying to be a Good Samaritan when he was allegedly attacked by the police officer. Just before the passerby captured the video, Mossberg said, he saw Detective Archer beating a young girl, Megan Adamescu. "Brutalized the hell out of her. Beat her down. Punched her in the face. Literally knocked her out," said Adamescu's Attorney Menachem Mayberg.
The concierge at the South Bay Club where Adamescu was staying called police to get her to leave because she was allegedly intoxicated. It was detective Archer who responded to the scene without a uniform and in his personal car after an undercover narcotics sting a few blocks away.
During the encounter, Mossberg thought the 29-year-old woman was being robbed. "Shouted to the man who was beating the woman, 'Stop! I've called the police,'" said O'Donnell.
Archer's police report admits to the confrontation, reading: "Slapped me on the left side of the face knowing I was a law enforcement officer. I immediately countered with an open hand strike to the defendant's right side of her face, causing her to fall to the ground and hit the back of her head."
Archer also said she used racial slurs. In court, Adamescu could be seen with a shiner and Mossberg in much worse condition.
On Thursday, the Miami Beach Police Department announced Archer had been relieved of duty. "The Miami Beach Police Department takes all allegations of officer misconduct seriously and will ensure that a full and thorough review of the incident in question is conducted," according to the department's press release.
Mossberg was very pleased with the news and sent 7News the following text message: "I am glad Miami Beach residents will be able to sleep safer and more secure with Detective Archer off the street. It is sad that events like this are necessary to get bad cops off the street," wrote Mossberg.
Archer was also one of several officers involved in the shooting death of a man during Memorial Day weekend in 2011.
A civil case involving Archer and a tourist from Guadeloupe just settled for $60,000. A picture taken right after the incident shows the tourist with a black eye. Michael Goodman, who represented the tourist said, "It makes me feel like our community is just a little bit safer that a very rogue and violent cop has finally been taken off the streets," said Goodman.
Archer has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
