suffered multiple skull fractures, one of which was long. The medical examiner, Dr. Ronald Wright, said McDuffie's injuries were not consistent with a motorcycle crash, and that if McDuffie had fallen off the motorcycle, as the police claimed, it did not make sense that its gauges would be broken. Wright said that it seemed that he had been beaten to death. Frank investigation Officer Veverka made a sworn statement on December 26 that he had lied in the initial report. According to Veverka's statement, after McDuffie stopped, Veverka pulled him off his motorcycle, and McDuffie responded by taking a swing at Veverka. More officers arrived shortly afterward and, according to Veverka, "six to eight" of them began beating McDuffie with nightsticks and heavy Kel-Lite flashlights. Veverka said he tried to pull McDuffie out of the fracas, but was unable to. Captain Marshall Frank investigated the cover-up, and made a sworn affidavit which led to criminal charges against four officers. Officer William Hanlon later testified that he had choked McDuffie to the ground with his nightstick before he managed to handcuff McDuffie. Hanlon testified that after McDuffie was restrained, Officer Alex Marrero struck McDuffie on the head with Marrero's Kel-Lite "at least three times. It was very strong and very powerful blows. His entire face was covered with blood." Hanlon added he was the officer who had driven over McDuffie's motorcycle; Hanlon also gouged the pavement with a tire iron to simulate skid marks and threw McDuffie's watch into the gutter. A patrol car had been used to deliberately run over the motorcycle to break its gauges and make it seem that McDuffie crashed. Officer Mark Meier testified the high-speed chase had slowed to 25 miles per hour when McDuffie shouted, "I give up" and stopped. Meier said that between three and eight officers then surrounded McDuffie, pulled off his helmet and proceeded to beat him with nightsticks. He said that the officer struck him at least twice. By the end of the struggle, the officers had, in the words of medical examiner Dr. Ronald Wright, cracked McDuffie's skull "like an egg" using "long, heavy blunt objects. This was a melee." Trial The acting director of the Dade County Public Safety Department, Bobby Jones, suspended three officers on December 27. Diggs, Hanlon, Marrero, and Watts were charged with manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence on December 28; Evans was charged with