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SWEETWATER - Two police officers were charged Thursday in the beating of an 18-year-old suspected of stealing from another officer. The beating was so severe that emergency surgery was needed to repair internal organs.
Officer Allen B. St. Germain, 34, and Sgt. George I. Alvarez, 33, were charged with felony battery and official misconduct and booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.
According to an affidavit, the two repeatedly hit and kicked Peter Daniel on June 18, 2003. They suspected Daniel of stealing a personal watercraft from another officer, the affidavit said.
Daniel's spleen and liver were lacerated, requiring emergency surgery.
Sweetwater Mayor Manuel Marono saw part of the incident and drove Daniel and the officers to another suspect's house and back to the station, the affidavit said.
Officers ignored Daniel's requests for medical help for hours, until an officer intervened when he found Daniel looking gray and "near death," the affidavit said.
The mayor didn't return phone messages Thursday.
No one has been charged in the theft.