Teen in alleged cop beating speaks out

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The four Houston police officers indicted and fired after accusations of beating a teenager during an arrest are out on bond. Now, we're hearing from the teen at the center of this case.

Eyewitness News Reporter Jessica Willey spoke exclusively with the teen and his mother, Joyce Holley.

Chad Holley is scheduled for an appearance at the Harris County Juvenile Justice Center on July 1 to face the burglary charge that sparked the alleged beating. That's the focus for him now, and it's also why what he's saying about that charge is limited.

Holley, 16, just wants to be a normal teenager again.

"I'm trying to get a job, start working," he said.

Instead, he's spending his summer at the center of a firestorm.

"Crazy," he added.

And what happened Wednesday inside a Harris County grand jury room hasn't helped his perception of police officers.

"I feel scared, like they're going to mess with me or something," Holley said.

Four officers now face misdemeanor charges of official oppression for their roles on March 23 when they were caught on tape outside a southwest Houston self storage lot allegedly beating Holley during his arrest for a house burglary. The Harris County District Attorney has explained what the officers are accused of doing doesn't rise to the level of aggravated assault.

Now ask him.

"Do you think you were assaulted?" Willey asked Holley.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

In fact, court documents on the four officers say they kicked struck and kneed the teen.

"Sounds like assault in black and white," said his attorney Wilvin Carter.

Chad Holley spent a day in the hospital with injuries to his head and ear. His mother is baffled the charges aren't more serious.

"I don't understand that," Joyce Holley said. "Did they want to really see him just beat up?"

Now he's here, with an attorney, even Quanell X at his side. You may not feel sorry for him.

"What do you say to the critics who say if he wasn't doing that in the first place, this wouldn't have happened?" ABC13's Willey asked.

Chad Holley just shook his head.

He wasn't allowed to answer that. His attorney answered for him.

"Their job is to arrest individuals who have committed crimes and bring them to justice," Carter said. "Their job is not to administer justice. That's not their job, and that's what they did with Chad on that particular night."

Now all four who have also been fired from the police department will get their day in court, and so will Holley, who has no sympathy for the officers.

"They got what they deserved," he said.

Attorneys for two of the officers say their actions were justified because they believe that Chad Holley was resisting and feared he might have been armed. He was not.

The entire 2 1/2-minute incident was caught on tape, and authorities say they don't plan to release that tape anytime soon.

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