Police beat homeless man after robbery

SARASOTA -- Through the glass door at the Yuppie Puppie, dog groomer Richard Sedlack saw a police officer run up to a homeless man and start punching him.

It was Friday afternoon, two hours after a bank had been robbed a few doors away. According to police, a bank manager had pointed the homeless man out to officers, saying he looked like the robber.

Sedlack, 51, said all he saw was the officer in attack mode.

"The officer grabbed the guy, pulled him off his bicycle and threw him to the ground," Sedlack said. "He had him down and just started whaling on his head. He punched him three or four times in the head."

Police identified the homeless man as Chynquy Calixte, 48. He's no longer a suspect in the bank robbery.

But Calixte was arrested on a concealed weapons charge after police found an eight-inch steak knife that fell out of his belongings. He was also charged with resisting arrest.

"Officers ordered him to stop and he wouldn't listen," said police spokesman Jay Frank. "The officer had a right to put his hands on him when he wouldn't follow commands."

The bank robber was last seen pushing a bicycle behind the Yuppie Puppie and Officer Alan Devaney saw Calixte walking behind the business with a bike, according to a police report.

Devaney demanded that Calixte step away from the bike and get on the ground, the report stated. When he didn't, Devaney tried to shoot Calixte with his Taser stun gun, but it didn't stop him.

Police say Calixte fought back, and kept reaching at his waistband during the scuffle.

Sedlack didn't see the man fight back at all. He said Calixte was trying to cover up as the officer hit him.

Sgt. Bob Gorevan also shocked Calixte with a Taser.

During the scuffle, Sedlack said bystanders were trying to telling the police that Calixte wasn't the bank robber, but they weren't listening.

"If I robbed a bank early in the day, I certainly wouldn't be riding a bicycle around the neighborhood with junk attached to it," Sedlack said. "It's common sense that the man did not rob the bank."

The robbery occurred at the RBC Centura bank near the 3500 block of

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