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Fort Pierce police officer arrested, accused of beating man in custody at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center

At least 1 other officer under investigation
Officer Albert Eckrode.JPG
Posted at 9:57 PM, Jun 04, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-04 23:56:56-04

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A Fort Pierce police officer turned himself in Thursday night at the St. Lucie County jail Thursday night.

Officer Albert Eckrode faces felony charges of battery and official misconduct. He also faces a charge of falsely reporting the commission of a crime in a report he wrote following the incident.

The State Attorney's Office confirms the arrest stems from a Feb. 20 incident.

Sources told WPTV NewsChannel 5 that Eckrode battered a man in custody at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center.

The hospital confirms there is a surveillance video of the incident, but Fort Pierce police have not released the footage.

Fort Pierce police have also not confirmed if there is body camera footage of the incident.

At least one other officer is also under investigation in relation to the incident at Lawnwood.

Eckrode was placed on paid administrative leave in February following the incident.

Stay with WPTV for any new details in this developing story.