This guy may have had the kind of attitude that gets some boxers killed in the ring. Most boxers know when they have had enough, and getting up from the mat will get them killed from one too many punches. But some of them are hard-wired to never give up - the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So they get up again for the nth time before the referee finishes the count and end up in the morgue. All most suspects have to do to avoid being roughly handled during an arrest is to comply. Some people will not stop trying to punch, kick or elbow the cops until they're beaten unconscious. This guy may have fought a little too long.
That's got nothing to do with the police taking the phones.