Man accused of shooting two Ferguson cops 'was beaten in custody': Lawyer claims police left him with welts on his face, neck, back and shoulders but stopped him taking photos of the injuries

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A lawyer for the man accused of shooting two police officers during a protest rally outside the Ferguson, Missouri, police headquarters last week said on Monday that his client was beaten when he was taken into custody, an allegation police called 'completely false.'

Jeffrey L. Williams, 20, had bruising across his back, on both shoulders and his neck, and a welt on his head and a mark on his face, attorney Jerryl Christmas said, adding that he met with him for two hours on Monday but could not take pictures. 

'He was beat up by the police,' said Christmas. 'He was beaten when he was taken into custody.'

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Jeffrey L. Williams, 20, had bruising across his back, on both shoulders and his neck, and a welt on his head and a markon his face, attorney Jerryl Christmas said after a two hour meeting on Monday

Attorney Jerryl Christmas told reporters on Monday that he met with Williams for two hours but police wouldn't allow him to take pictures

In a mugshot of Williams released on Sunday his face and neck appeared to have several cuts and bruises, although Christmas didn't make clear if those were the injuries he was referencing. 

Williams had appeared briefly in court on Monday morning without counsel and did not enter a plea. He is charged with two counts of first-degree assault, a class A felony that calls for 10-30 years, or up to life in prison.

The shooting was the latest violent incident in months of demonstrations in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, after a white police officer fatally shot unarmed black teen Michael Brown during a confrontation in August.

In announcing Williams's arrest on Sunday, St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch told reporters Williams had admitted firing the shots that wounded the officers early on Thursday and told authorities he was not shooting at police.

'With regard to the allegations that Jeffrey Williams was 'beaten' by police, the St. Louis County Police Department calls these allegations completely false,' spokesman Brian Schellman said in a statement. 

Schellman said Williams was taken immediately to St. Louis County Police headquarters after his arrest, interviewed by detectives on video and audio, booked and evaluated by a nurse as every inmate is, to determine if he is fit to be confined.

Shooting: Police take cover after two officers were shot while standing guard in front of the Ferguson Police Station last Thursday

Christmas said Williams was taken into custody on a probation warrant and did not know he was being arrested until he was taken for questioning.

No one responded Monday at the Williams address listed in court records, a one-story blue house that had trash strewn on the lawn. Neighbors declined to comment.

Police had called the shooting an 'ambush' of the officers, who were standing side by side, by a gunman embedded with protesters, but McCulloch said on Sunday that Williams may have been shooting at someone else.

Several long-time activists have said they did not recognize or know Williams as a protester.

'Clearly this was not a police ambush and police were never the target,' Christmas said, adding: 'It could have easily been the protesters who got shot instead of the police.'

The shooting of the officers followed a flurry of resignations and protests in the week after the U.S. JusticeDepartment released a damning report accusing Ferguson of racially biased policing.

Wounded: In the shooting early on Thursday, a 41-year-old county police officer suffered a shoulder wound. Another officer, 32, suffered a facial wound. Above, one of the officers is seen being taken away by EMT

In announcing Williams's arrest on Sunday, St. Louis CountyProsecutor Robert McCulloch told reporters Williams had admittedfiring the shots that wounded the officers early on Thursday andtold authorities he was not shooting at police

The Justice Department, which launched an investigation after Brown's shooting, found pervasive racial bias in Ferguson's policing and municipal court practices. Its police force is mostly white while two-thirds of residents are black.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, its city manager and its municipal court judge have resigned.

Williams, who had been on probation for possession of stolen property, is accused of firing shots from a car just as a rally after Jackson's resignation was breaking up.

Demonstrations erupted into arson and looting after Brown's shooting in August and again in November when a grand jury declined to bring charges against Officer Darren Wilson.

Police drew criticism for mass arrests and use of gas canisters, rubber bullets and armored vehicles in the days after Brown's shooting, a response officials said was needed to quell the unrest.

A U.S. District judge on Monday allowed a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by people arrested in August to continue. 

The lawsuit names Ferguson, St. Louis County, the chiefs of both departments and other officers as defendants.

FERGUSON DEMONSTRATORS SAY THEY'VE NEVER SEEN COP SHOOTER

St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said he believed the 20-year-old suspect attended last week's protest before the shooting happened. Activists said Williams was not a consistent fixture in their tight-knit group.

'We're not sure we completely buy that part of it,' McCulloch said of Williams' contention that he did not fire at the officers.

Williams is charged with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle and three counts of armed criminal action. He made a brief court appearance Monday, and the case was scheduled for a later date. Court officials said he did not yet have an attorney. 

Williams' arrest came as anti-police protesters (pictured) have resumed demonstrations outside Ferguson police station

McCulloch said there may have been other people in the vehicle with Williams and that the investigation is ongoing.

Williams used a handgun that matches the shell casings at the scene, McCulloch said. He also said tips from the public led to the arrest.

Williams is being held on $300,000 bond.

Brittany Ferrell, 26, a protest leader with the group Millennial Activists United, had just left a meeting with other leaders Sunday when word of the arrest circulated. She said no one in the group knew Williams, and they checked with other frequent protesters, who also had not heard of him.

Ferrell suspected McCulloch tried to cast him as a protester to reflect negatively on the movement.

'This is a fear tactic,' she said. 'We are very tight-knit. We know each other by face if not by name, and we've never seen this person before.'

John Gaskin, a St. Louis NAACP leader, said of Williams, 'I don't know him. I've never seen him.'