Cover-up alleged in videotaped beating

AS A NEWS video of police beating and kicking three shooting suspects is seen around the world, attorneys for the battered men are claiming that Philly cops concocted their story to cover up for a case of mistaken identity - an allegation police vehemently deny.

The attorneys said their clients - Brian Hall, 23, Dwayne "Lionel" Dyches, 24, and Pete Hopkins, 19 - were not involved in a shooting. But rather, police chased down their car and beat them because they mistook Dyches, a passenger in the car, for accused cop-killer Eric DeShawn Floyd, the attorneys said.

At a news conference yesterday, Dyches' attorney, Eldridge Suggs, showed photos of Dyches and Floyd and called the resemblance "uncanny."

"All they've done is make up some facts to account for the beating," Suggs said. "And the reason why they beat this man is because he looked so much like the cop-killer."

The news conference came as thousands of cops attended the funeral of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, who was killed last weekend after he confronted three bank-robbery suspects, including Floyd.

Police and city leaders have denied a cover-up. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and Mayor Nutter have said officers pursued the gold Mercury Grand Marquis, driven by Hall, after a triple shooting in the city's Feltonville section.

On Monday at about 10 p.m., police say narcotics cops were conducting a surveillance at 4th and Ansberry streets when they saw four men get out of the Marquis and walk to the corner. One of the four men fired shots at three other men. The shooter fled on foot and his three cohorts got back into the Marquis and took off, with police in pursuit, Ramsey said.

The three men, however, say they were not at the shooting scene that night; they were around the corner on Raymond Street near 4th, paying respects to the mother of a friend, Andrew Coach, who was killed the night before, according to family members and Suggs.

Sheila Coach said yesterday that Dyches, Hall and Hopkins arrived at her house at about 9 p.m. that night. She hugged them. It was just the three of them - not four, she said.

Suggs said he has witnesses who will testify that Dyches, Hall and Hopkins were with them standing outside the Coach's house when shots rang out.

That's when the three men decided it was time to leave and got in the Marquis to head home.

One of the shooting victims lives a few doors away from Sheila Coach on Raymond Street. The man, 20, who was shot in the leg, said he never saw a gold Mercury Grand Marquis and does not know Dyches, Hall and Hopkins.

The man, who refused to provide his name to a reporter, asked to be identified by his nickname, "Booka." He and two friends were on their way to pick up Chinese food when bullets started flying. Booka said he didn't see who was firing. Police stopped the Marquis on 2nd Street near Lippincott. With a Fox News helicopter above, officers yanked the men from the car and began to beat them. Thirteen officers, including one sergeant, have been taken off the street pending the outcome of probes by Internal Affairs and the city District Attorney's Office. The Philadelphia Office of the FBI has opened a preliminary investigation and is monitoring the District Attorney's review, said FBI spokeswoman Jerria Williams.

On Thursday, civil-rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton suggested the beating was racially motivated and said the incident was "worse than Rodney King," who was beaten by white Los Angeles cops after a 1991 traffic stop. Ramsey dismissed Sharpton's comments.

Meanwhile, Leomia Dyches, mom of Dwayne Dyches, said that Dyches is in pain and staff at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility have denied him medical attention. She said her son has complained of headaches and she's afraid he has a concussion and a broken leg.

Prison spokesman Bob Eskind said Dyches has been seen medically three times: Once at Temple University Hospital after his arrest, again when he first arrived at the prison and a third time yesterday evening. "He's receiving adequate medical attention," Eskind said. *