Tape Captures Philly Cops Beating Suspects
Up To 15 Officers Could Be Taken Off Street Following Incident, Mayor's Office Says
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Police Probe Taped Beating
The "city of brotherly love" is on edge following the beating of crime suspects chased by police. Tara Mergener reports.
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Philly Cops Caught On Tape
Three Philadelphia police officers have been arrested after they were caught on tape beating and kicking several suspects just days after the murder of a police sergeant. Randall Pinkston reports.
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"On the surface it certainly does not look good in terms of the amount of force that was used," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. "But we don't want to rush to judgment." (AP/WTXF-TV Fox Philadelphia)
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The tape shows about a dozen officers gathering around the vehicle and pulling three men out. About a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are kicked repeatedly, while one is seen being punched; one also appears to be struck with a baton. (AP/WTXF-TV Fox Philadelphia)
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"At a glance it does appear to be a bit beyond the pale," said Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter. "Officers are not allowed to operate outside of the law."
The police involved in the beating are being put on desk duty during the department's investigation, reports CBS News reporter Tara Mergener.
The police department believes about 15 officers were involved in Monday night's arrests in the city's Hunting Park section, where police had been investigating a triple shooting, Oliver said. Some have already been taken off the street, while others still need to be identified, he said.
The three suspects were charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment, according to court officials.
The video, shot by a WTXF-TV helicopter, shows three police cars stopping a car on the side of a road. About a dozen officers gather around the vehicle and pull three men out. About a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground on the driver's side. Both are kicked repeatedly, while one is seen being punched; one also appears to be struck with a baton.
On the other side of the car, another group of officers can be seen kicking a third man who ends up on the ground.
Oliver said that, while the use of force appeared excessive, the public should withhold judgment until all the facts are known.
"We are not going to prejudge the situation based on the video," he said. "We all saw the video, but none of us was there."
Oliver initially said 15 officers had been taken off the street Wednesday. He later said about 15 officers were at the scene, but that the exact number identified and already off the street was unclear.
"One way or the other, everyone associated with this will be taken off the street," Oliver said. "The officers involved in this incident will be reassigned."
A message left with Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman, was not immediately returned Wednesday morning.
The confrontation occurred just two days after Philadelphia Police Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski was killed, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston. The suspect, Eric Floyd, got away.
Liczbinski was shot with an assault rifle after a robbery in the city's Port Richmond section on Saturday. One man was fatally shot by police after the shooting, another was arrested Sunday and a third remains on the lam.
Police are not saying the three men were connected to the police officer's murder, but the killing, the third in two years, weighs heavily on the minds of every Philadelphia cop, Pinkston reports.
"There's no excuse for not concucting ourselves properly," Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told CBS News. "There's a lot of stress, a lot of tension."
Defense attorney Scott Perrine is a former prosecutor who represents the three suspects in the car.
"There is a big disconnect between saying an officer was murdered and therefore we're going to proffer this explanation and the justification of a stressed out police, a police force that's emotional," Perrine told CBS News.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 166 CommentsWhenever you give power to anyone, eventually they will abuse it, unless there are effective controls to prevent abuse. Too many cops consider civilians their "enemy", and too many cops took the job because they were attracted to the power trip.
Better screening of applicants, better training, and better pay would get us better cops.
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Posted by EveningJoe
I guess since the Court has decided about evidence and arrest, when the police beat down your door, kill beat someone in the house, because they need to " take the law into their own hands " your mood might change! Have had someone killed, (road rage) shot by an off duty gestapo cop over not using a turn signal.
I repeat the cops do this because they can!!! And your thinking will help further their cause. Welcome to the new King George II world order!
Number 2, why does the news media only report the negative, never anything good. Oh yea except this week we get to watch the proms of the cast. Oh boy that is some great news that I just had to see. Give me a break, who really cares about their prom.
I do not remember seeing anything about the cop getting shot on the news, but when they do something such as this we will have to hear about it forever. Get over it!
SOOOOOOOO correct. The only person I knew personally that became a cop was a bully, liar , dope head. He was kicked off the force eventually but he cost the citizens of his county millions in a lawsuit brought on from his actions. They have been bullying America for 200 years and we only now have cameras to help us judge if they were justified. I don''t see any justification here. Then again, based on some comments, if your upset about anything you get a free pass on beating people. That will make the streets safer when we all start that as a policy.
Everyone evidently skipped the part where these individuals had just been witnessed at a shooting.
Or is it just more fun to rant against the cops?
Everybody talks about cops like they''re trash till they need one! Then you want them there as fast as they can get there to take a bullet for your arse.
That''s right, you''re GUESSING! You just made up that stuff about "you won''t cooperate, get out and show yourself, and your weapons". The article quoted the lawyer saying, "It [the videotape] clearly shows a lack of any reasonable investigation before these police yank these individuals out of the car and take turns delivering blows." But NOWHERE does the article say anything about the "suspects" failing to cooperate. Besides, what POSSIBLE justification could there be for "a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are kicked repeatedly, while one is seen being punched; one also appears to be struck with a baton."
There is NO JUSTIFICATION, period!
Cops are supposed to apprehend suspected criminals. Cops don''t get to decide which "suspects" are guilty. Cops don''t get to administer punishment. And kicking and beating people is NOT a legal punishment, even if a trial and conviction had already occurred.
People who support this kind of abuse by cops are nazi sympathizers in training.
Get your programs here!
Can''t tell the cops from the criminals without a program.
Programs! Programs!
Thugs who commit crimes?
or
Thugs who (Supposedly)protect the public?
they know they can be killed at any moment. And these kids in the car were supposedly just involved in a shooting.
this is my take on the situation. but until everything is out in the open we won''t know
Posted by IDNNSG at 09:24 AM : May 07, 2008
Exactly right.
I can understand how frustrating it must be for cops. They have to stand by and watch while these kinds of idiots get away with the things they do. BUT they do not have the right to take the law into their own hands.
What really gets me is how stupid the cops are becoming though. I mean, if you are going to do something like this, DON''T GET CAUGHT!
Number 2, why does the news media only report the negative, never anything good. Oh yea except this week we get to watch the proms of the cast. Oh boy that is some great news that I just had to see. Give me a break, who really cares about their prom.
I do not remember seeing anything about the cop getting shot on the news, but when they do something such as this we will have to hear about it forever. Get over it!
Posted by nuke5001 at 08:50 AM : May 07, 2008
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nuke5001, your first sentence nullifes your entire coment"
These people were/are ""suspects"", They have not even been charged as as ""killers""
"The police involved in the beating are being put on desk duty during the department''s investigation"
-Are you kidding me? They blatantly broke the law and we are going to continue to pay these violent criminals.
THEY SHOULD BE IN JAIL!!!!!!!!!!
Philly, it''s getting close to riot time for you people. Atleast get ready to pay millions $$$ of your tax dollars on this case. The attorney is expecting atleast that.
"A court official said late Tuesday that the defendants had been charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangering."
-And the cops were charged with...?
Perhaps there was ill will, excessive force, et cetera. I''ll let the jury decide. I was not at the scene, so I do not know the full list of events and probably never will.
And while this doesn''t always justify the cops'' point of view, most violent criminals won''t think twice before acting aggressive. Under some conditions, they might be inclined to put their own lives first. Yes, they are professionals and that should count too. But under the circumstances, blindly siding with these particular suspects is not a smart thing to do!
See what the far left has spawned. Krap like this.
Sure, 1982 - then again, maybe you aren''t a Citizen.
Were these Thugs trained in Texas?
Sie sind alle guten Deutsch.
I''''m tired of the criminals'''' so called rights. They have the right to get beat dead.
Posted by diatreme"
Here''s to seeing you, a bloody pulp on the side of the road, after your speeding ticket, Nazi.
Posted by tbweb
I don''t think anyone is feeling sorry for criminals. IF, these people were cop killers, (which nowhere does it say they were), then life in jail, even the death penalty is fine with me.
None of that changes the fact that, what these police officers did on this video makes them the criminal.
martin9p2: excellent neocon reasoning: someone did something atrocious, so let''s go punish some people who vaguely sort of remind us of the people we think did it because the people who actually did it aren''t readily available for easy punishment. That is pure cowardice.
This is insane! ,That is a police department without much leadership. You remove those badges and thats criminal thuggery .
This no question explains why cops are getting gun down. That Police department have thugs hiding behind badges. All these so call cops in the video needs to be fired and be charge with assault.
If this Chief doesn''t do that , then the community will continue not to trust the Police department.
And the citizens have every right to clinch their guns ... if they feel their civil rights will be threaten.. when some thug hiding behind a BADGE will assault them.
BTW.. Civil rights branches should be involve in this.
Who the heck is running that city?//////.
I an sure that this was NOT just a normal traffic stop. NO Police force in the nation would have that many officers involved with just a normal traffic violation. There must have been some other reason they were all called there.
Why was the news hilacopter there, there must have been severl calls about the stop to get the news people there to film it. There is no news in giving someone a ticket.
MEDIA should tell the WHOLE story, not just hype it for new value.
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