Dramatic footage shows three men surrounding the alleged acid attacker and kicking him, before one pours a pint of milk on him as he rolls around on the floor near Maryland station in Stratford, East London.
The shocking incident was captured by a witness, who said that: "I saw someone on a bike wearing a mask go up to a guy (who the witness believed was Polish) coming out of the shop and say 'Boss, give me some change'.
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"The guy politely declined and then he said 'at least let me take a drink' and then the Polish guy told him to go away.
"He then got off the bike and went straight for his pocket, pulled out a bottle (which the mob believes to be a corrosive acid) and started throwing the substance inside towards the Polish guy's direction.
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"The Polish guy ended up taking it and throwing it away.
"Then the Polish guy and his pals started beating him up.
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"He got beaten up and other locals started pulling them away.
"The person getting beaten up lives on the streets. He was also wearing a mask to intimidate people.
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"He got up but was wobbling everywhere and genuinely had no eye sight for a good minute.
"He ... went in his pocket and took a knife out, jumped on his bike and rode off."
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis judge on Monday awarded nearly $23.5 million to a former police officer who was beaten by colleagues while working undercover during a protest.
Luther Hall was badly injured in the 2017 attack during one of several protests that followed the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a former St. Louis officer, on a murder charge that stemmed from the shooting death of a Black man.
Hall previously settled a separate lawsuit with the city for $5 million. In 2022, he sued three former colleagues — Randy Hays, Dustin Boone and Christopher Myers — for their roles in the attack.
Hays never responded to the lawsuit despite being served while he was in prison on a civil rights violation, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. A judge issued a default judgment in favor of Hall in February and heard testimony Monday about why Hall should receive damages.
Hall's claims against Boone and Myers are still pending.
Hall, in court on Monday, talked about the severe physical and emotional damages that followed the beating. He suffered several herniated discs and a jaw injury that left him unable to eat. He developed gallstones with complications, requiring surgeries.
“Mr. Hall had to endure this severe beating and while that was happening, he knew it was being administered by his colleagues who were sworn to serve and protect,” Circuit Judge Joseph Whyte said.
Hays was not at the hearing. He was sentenced to more than four years in prison in 2021 and is in the custody of the St. Louis Residential Reentry Management Office, which supervises people who have been released from prison and are serving time on home confinement or in halfway houses. He has one year to contest the judgment.
The attack happened on Sept. 17, 2017, days after Stockley was acquitted in the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith on Dec. 20, 2011. Hall was walking back toward police headquarters when his uniformed colleagues ordered him to put up his hands and get on the ground, then beat him.
Hays, Boone, Myers and another officer, Bailey Colletta, were indicted in 2018 in connection with Hall’s injuries. A fifth officer, Steven Korte, was indicted on a civil rights charge and another count of lying to the FBI.
Boone was convicted of a civil rights charge and sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison. Meyers received probation after pleading guilty to a single felony charge. Colletta received probation for lying to the FBI and a grand jury about the attack. Korte was acquitted.
In addition to the settlement with Hall, the city of St. Louis last year paid nearly $5.2 million over allegations that police violated the rights of dozens of people by capturing them in a police “kettle” and arresting them. Some said they were beaten, pepper-sprayed and attacked with stun guns in various downtown protests after the Stockley verdict.
St. Louis Police Officer Randy Hays exits the federal courthouse following his first court appearance, Nov. 30, 2018, in St. Louis, Mo. Hays was one of three officers charged with kicking and beating Luther Hall. A St. Louis judge on Monday, April 15, 2024, awarded nearly $23.5 million to Hall, a former police officer who was beaten by colleagues while working undercover during a 2017 protest. In 2022, Hall sued Hays, Dustin Boone and Christopher Myers for their roles in the attack. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Hays never responded to the lawsuit. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
Luther Hall speaks with news reporters in the KMOV TV studio in St. Louis, Mo., on April 6, 2022. A St. Louis judge on Monday, April 15, 2024, awarded nearly $23.5 million to Hall, a former police officer who was beaten by colleagues while working undercover during a 2017 protest. (Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
