Man describes beating by now-fired Antioch cop
Alleged assault victim of fired Antioch police officer says hes grateful to be alive
A man who is seen being beaten by a now-fired Antioch police officer on police worn body-camera video, says he is grateful to be alive. As he shared his story, he tells us he was a passenger in a vehicle as he and his brother were driving to their mothers house. The alleged assault victim questions why the police were asking for his license when he was not behind the wheel.
ANTIOCH, Calif. - A man who says he was beaten by a now-fired Antioch police officer is sharing his story.
The attack took place a year ago, but the Antioch Police Department just recently released the body camera videos.
Terry Robinson spoke to KTVU from his family's retail clothing store in Oakland.
He said he's grateful to be alive. But he still vividly recalls what happened to him when he was the passenger in the car his 17-year-old brother was driving.
He said they were driving to their mother's home in Antioch when then-officer Matthew Nutt pulled them over.
"I thought I was supposed to die that day. I thought it was over with. I thought I was going to get shot or something," said Robinson.
In the body cam video, Robinson can be heard saying, "I'm just the passenger" and the officer replying, "I know, but I need to verify you have a license to see if someone can actually drive this thing."
Last week, police released body-cam videos of the incident that happened July 1, 2022.
It began as a traffic stop for a missing license plate that quickly took a turn after the officer ran Robinson's driver's license.
The 27-year-old said the officer handcuffed him, took him to the police cruiser and then told Robinson he had an outstanding warrant for a shooting.
Robinson said the situation escalated when he refused to get into the police car, "I didn't feel safe going anywhere with him. I didn't feel safe so that's why I didn't get into the cruiser with him."
In the body cam video, Robinson can be heard saying, "I'm having a panic attack. I need medical."
The videos showed the officer repeatedly kicking and punching Robinson who was handcuffed. He said he spent six days in jail before being released.
"Probably 10 different officers out there. Ain't none of them hitting me or punching me. What makes you think it's okay to do that?" said Robinson.
Antioch Police Chief Steven Ford fired Officer Nutt in April.
Investigators said he violated use of force policies.
The officer's attorney wrote in a statement, "Mr. Robinson feigned a panic attack in an effort to avoid arrest, but he was not injured by Officer Nutt’s attempts to gain his compliance, and ultimately turned down medical assistance. We believe a Contra Costa jury will exonerate Officer Nutt."
"I don't want anybody else to go through this at all because it can end differently," Robinson said he wants the former officer to serve time in jail.
Nutt is scheduled to be arraigned July 18.
He is facing one misdemeanor count of assault by a public officer.
His attorney said he will plead not guilty and he's fighting to get his job back.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.