After a beat down in an elevator, Joshua Daniel Ortiz ended up with his nose broken and facing a charge of battering a Fort Lauderdale police officer.

The 22-year-old Sunrise man was surprised and delighted to learn Wednesday that Broward prosecutors were dropping the case against him after reviewing an elevator surveillance video showing three officers aggressively rush and beat Ortiz to the ground. Once the Dec. 5 video surfaced, it altered the course of the case. It contradicted police reports that Ortiz provoked and attacked Officers Derek Lade, Stefan Silver and Steve Smith.

“They were just sitting there watching my life go down the drain with those charges,” Ortiz said Wednesday. “I’ve been going crazy thinking my life is over. It’s barely started and it’s over.”The looming legal charges delayed Ortiz’s enrollment in college classes, he said. Police first charged Ortiz with felony battery on a law enforcement officer. But after seeing the video obtained by Ortiz’s defense attorney, Stephen Melnick, prosecutors downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor resisting charge. Upon further review, prosecutors dropped the case entirely.

Yes Officer….there are surveillance cameras in banks!!!! I know that’s hard for some of you to comprehend. But when you feel the overwhelming urge to beat the snot out of someone, use your head and do it in a back alleyway like the good old days.