A 33-year-old California man who claimed he was assaulted by police officers has been found guilty of attempted coercion and initiating a false report after he was caught on video punching himself in the face more than 40 times.
Newly released surveillance footage shows Aleksander Robin Tomaszewski at Lane County Jail in Oregon, where he was being held last month after being charged with first-degree sexual abuse and stalking, Raw Story reported.
Throughout the video, Mr. Tomaszewski paces back and forth in his cell and punches himself in the face repeatedly. He appears to strike himself in the face 45 times in the four-minute clip, the Eugene Register-Guard reported.
He later filed a complaint accusing local detectives of assaulting him during an interview. He had multiple facial injuries, deputies said.
After being told he was caught beating himself on video, Mr. Tomaszewski allegedly confessed to making up the story in hopes of winning early release from jail, deputies said.
He was sentenced to 20 days in jail, 36 months of probation and a $500 fine for the attempted coercion charge, the Register-Guard reported. For initiating a false report, he received a $100 fine and 20 additional days in jail, the newspaper said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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