Frank Lanier says he was harassed and beaten by police in New York on November 30 in a case of mistaken identity. Lanier, a retired correctional officer, was shopping in a Mineola supermarket when two Garden City police officers, who were looking for a shoplifter, approached him. Lanier claims that the officers grabbed him from behind without warning then began physically and verbally abusing him. Even though he identified himself as law enforcement, Lanier says the officers still laughed and handled him inappropriately.

During a press conference, Lanier spoke of his experience of being "beaten and treated like a slave". He broke down in tears as he described the events that sent him to THE hospital.

“For somebody to grab me by the neck in the supermarket, and I’m telling you, ‘I’m one of you,’ and you disrespect it — it was like you’re just another black dude,” Lanier said.

Fred Brewington, Lanier's attorney, sees this as another case of racial profiling.

“They didn’t have a good description of who they were looking for. That doesn’t give you the right to go into a store and grab the first black person you see and throw them to the ground,” Brewington told 1010 WINS. “The fact that he happened to be a black male in the store does not make him a culprit. It does not make him a suspect.”

Lanier wants more than an apology and a slap on the wrist.

“I’m tired of hearing officers constantly talking about we have to retrain. They don’t need to be retrained. They need to be held accountable for their actions,” Lanier said.

Lanier plans on filing a lawsuit against the Garden City Police Department. The police department has not commented on the allegations

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