Originally Posted by Star Tribune

A 19-year-old man arrested for allegedly obstructing justice and assaulting a police officer claimed Thursday he was beaten and "tortured" in the Ramsey County jail.

Elliot Hughes, who also claimed he was not protesting but simply riding his bike on the street as a group of demonstrators was going through downtown St. Paul, said his injuries resulted in his being taken to Regions Hospital.

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Sheriff Bob Fletcher said that Hughes was "extremely disruptive" and that "it took some force to control him." The sheriff said that the jail has a lot of recording devices and that they would provide evidence of what happened.

Hughes said he was injured after sheriff's personnel at the Ramsey County jail took him to a detention cell and beat him after he and other prisoners were chanting for food.

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In a separate case, the mother of Keith Smith, a 17-year-old boy, claims her son was beaten by five St. Paul police officers after he marched against the war in Iraq on Monday.

St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said Thursday he could not comment because of the alleged victim's age and the possibility he might seek an internal affairs investigation.