AMERICAN 2

According to a police official, Elliot was drunk and was
returning to his flat when a security guard spotted him while
allegedly trying to break into a taxi.

The guard informed taxi driver Balkrishan who went to the
spot with three others. The official claimed that Elliot
punched the face of the driver.

When two policemen intervened, Elliot allegedly attacked
them also. However, Elliot denied the allegations saying
unknowingly he walked into an altercation between police and a
man.

He said the incident took place when he was returning
home from his friends Kate Webb and Ryan Fletcher's flat.

"As I was walking in the darkness, I came around the
corner of a building and walked literally into the middle of
an altercation between at least four police men beating a
person beside the street," Elliot said.

He claimed an argument broke out when he objected to
police beating up the person. One of the officers swung his
baton which struck him on the left upper arm.

"I struck him in the jaw and as he reeled back, I turned
and fled, turning off of the way to my home, as the officers
were in the way," he said. He began searching for a hiding
place and got into a car to hide himself from police. A guard
saw him and alerted the driver.

"I tried to explain I wanted a hiding place, not to steal
a car. His shouts alerted the police...they arrived quickly
and surrounded me. Advancing quickly, they began beating me
with their batons," Elliot said. MORE PTI