2 Florida police officers arrested after battering of person in custody

Two Fort Pierce police officers have been arrested and suspended after one was accused of hitting someone in custody in the face and head.

FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Two Florida police officers have been arrested after state investigators found that one of them hit a person in custody in the head and face.

Officer Albert Eckrode of the Fort Pierce Police Department has been charged with felony battery, official misconduct and false report of commission of crime, and fellow officer Monica Frederic is charged with false report of commission of crime.

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced the charges Friday. Fort Pierce police had asked the FDLE to investigate in February after allegations of unlawful use of force were made against an officer.

Investigators say that the person who was being held in custody at an area hospital “made verbal threats and used racial epithets against an officer, and her fellow officer subsequently struck that person several times about the head and face, causing injury.”

FDLE says its agents questioned the victim and several police and civilian witnesses and also examined video footage from the hospital.

Eckrode and Frederic surrendered to authorities on Thursday and remain suspended pending the outcome of the case, the FDLE says.