Sharpton Chimes In On Philly Cop Beating

Calls Taped Incident "Worse Than Rodney King"; More Officers Taken Off Street Duty

(CBS/AP)  The Rev. Al Sharpton called a videotaped police beating of three shooting suspects in Philadelphia "worse than Rodney King," prompting the city's police commissioner to chide anyone "fanning flames ... from afar."

The civil rights activist made the comments Thursday as he interviewed the mother of one of the suspects on his radio show.

Thirteen police officers have been taken off street duty as police investigate the television news footage, according to Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman. The video shows officers kicking, punching and beating the three black men during a traffic stop Monday.

"I've not seen anything like that since Rodney King, and it's worse than Rodney King, and we cannot allow our community to be under siege," Sharpton said. "We've got to stop this nonsense in our community, acting like you got to be a certain level black to be treated within the law."

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said he does not believe the confrontation was racially motivated, but instead thinks that tensions in the wake of the weekend slaying of a fellow officer played a part.

The beating occurred at the same time as police were conducting an intense manhunt for a suspect in the slaying of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, 39, who was killed responding to a bank robbery Saturday. He was the second city officer killed on the job in seven months.

At a news conference Thursday morning, Ramsey called the confrontation a "black eye" for the force and "an embarrassment to the entire department."

In an interview later in the day with The Associated Press, Ramsey said: "I know everybody's trying to make this into a racial thing. I don't believe it is."

"We just had a policeman murdered on Saturday ... and emotions are running high," he said.

"There's no excuse for it, but fanning flames, and making accusations from afar, is not in anybody's best interest," said Ramsey, who took over as commissioner in January after serving in the same role in Washington, D.C.

King, who is black, was videotaped being beaten by white Los Angeles police officers after he was stopped for speeding in 1991. Four officers were acquitted of most criminal charges in 1992, triggering rioting in Los Angeles and neighboring cities that left 55 people dead and caused $1 billion in property damage.

In the Philadelphia case, officers who stopped the car Monday night believed its occupants had been involved in a triple shooting a few blocks away. They included members of a narcotics unit working the area and patrol officers called in response to the shooting.

The three suspects - Dwayne Dyches, Brian Hall and Pete Hopkins, all of Philadelphia - were each charged with attempted murder and related counts in connection with the shooting, according to court records.

D. Scott Perrine, a lawyer representing the three suspects, has said his clients had nothing to do with the shooting, police had no reason to follow their car and the beating was unjustified.

Leomia Dyches complained to Sharpton on Thursday that she could not see her son when he was in the hospital.

Ramsey noted to the AP that he was in custody at the time, charged with attempted murder. All three suspects were treated at a hospital soon after the confrontation, Ramsey said, and they were being held Thursday in lieu of bail of $100,000 or more.

The commissioner pledged to send the department's preliminary investigation to the District Attorney's Office by next week. If prosecutors decline to file charges, he will deal with the officers involved internally, he said.

Ramsey said it was too early to say what kind of discipline the might be warranted. He told CBS' The Early Show Thursday that should the district attorney's office throw the case back to the police department, "I'll take appropriate action," adding that he'd judge each officer involved individually.

Ramsey said he did not know the race of all the officers on the scene - there were about 15 - but said that at least one sergeant involved is African-American.

The Internal Affairs unit is still working to enhance the tape and identify all of the officers in the footage, a department spokesman said.

Sharpton's remarks came a day after he was arrested along with hundreds of other demonstrators as he blocked traffic to protest the acquittal of three New York detectives who fatally shot an unarmed black man in on his wedding day.

Ramsey said the beating does not reflect the behavior of the whole Philadelphia department, and cast a shadow during a time that should have been focused on the period of mourning for Liczbinski, whose funeral will be held Friday.

Mayor Michael Nutter has also criticized the officers' behavior, calling it unacceptable.

[beehive21-2009]

Just look at that guy, you can see he''s guilty,the cops blew it, they should have shot em all,and need to start shooting anytime that run, were sick and tired of these punks,running over people every time they run recklessly,shoot em dead,and maybe they''ll pull over like the rest of us,shoot em if they run.

[bdrlnt4rl]

ddiggs11

you poor sucka. being an idiot is hard sometimes isn''t it??

[bdrlnt4rl]

maybe if the dead beat parents were actually parenting and teaching their criminal son to stay away from a life of crime and drugs.................

[ddiggs11]

f**k the cops thay think that they are above the law. There accuse for doing that was because of that dead officer. Their job is to [rotect and if they get killed its just apart of the job. i think that the cops ae full of s**t and we need to beat them once in a while.

[ddiggs11]

*** the cops they think that they are above the law that is why i hate cops

[twogunsono1g]

What does it matter if one cop was black. Blacks are a big minority in Philly PD...Also, have you never heard of a house ni**er. If the man ever wanted to get home safely after a shift or come out of a dark alley with no holes in him....he better go along....its called the blue wall


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by haitianblk at 12:18 PM : May 09, 2008
+
haitianblk, Are you trying to take brianbwb''s job? The last thing we need is someone else speaking truth and common sense. That is brian''s job and he does it very well. We can not handle two of you, please go away! So say the unsavory posters on here,thank you very, very much.

[atlanta30326]

Thinking about it...the good Rev. Sharpton might have a short memory. Does anybody recall his rush to judgement in the Tawana Brawley case or the Duke LaCrosse incident?

[atlanta30326]

Although I do not agree with the beatings, anyone who has ever spent anytime in Philly can tell you you don''t have to be black for the cops to beat the *** out of you. No doubt they don''t have the reputation of that lovable Irish cop, whistling along his beat, twirling his stick. Sharpton can somehow turn a county fair hotdog eating contest into a racial issue. Sharpton is quoted as saying "I''ve not seen anything like that since Rodney King, and it''s worse than Rodney King, and we cannot allow our community to be under siege." I have breaking news for Rev. Sharpton...your community is already under siege by your own people. Unemployed, uneducated street thugs, from single parent households control your neighborhood. I am no fan of rogue cops, and do not condone these beatings. But for Christ''s sake, take some accountability for what transpired that night. These were not a few young dudes just out cruising for some babes...they allegedly tried to murder a person!

[bdrlnt4rl]

hey sharpton, jenna bush is more exciting than you! have you bought your one way ticket away from america yet? your all wahsed up, go away.

[bdrlnt4rl]

yup, all washed up sharpton. you are not even making the gossip news anymore. go away!

[bdrlnt4rl]

sharpton, your all washed up. you are an idiot with a dying cause that all americans are sick of, and that is you!

go to south africa and fight for justice there. they need you more there than we need you here.

plus your survival rate in africa wont be as great there as it is here, and then the world wont need to worry with your sorry assss then.

[keithle1]

It''s police vs perps. Black police officers don''t see the color of the criminal''s skin. Cops back up cops. You think a black officer is gonna take it easy on a brutha who is pumped up on PCP & acting like a crazy man? What do you want them to do? Hug these people?

If you think all cops are evil, next time you''re in trouble & need some assistance, call one of your black friends. We''ll see how fast they come running.

[okcnfrcr]

ranger 1948 thanks, I actually wouldn''t mind giving my real name but probably not a smart thing to do. I don''t like being behind email names and my actual email account is my name. But with identity theft like it is wouldn''t be good. Not worried about threats or name calling, been there before, just identity theft. come to OKC, enjoy our Bricktown, Cowboy Hall of Fame, Zoo, Horse racing track, many events at State Fairgrounds, Casino gambling close by, and hopefully to come NBA basketball (sometime). Easy city to get around, friendly people and if tornados don''t get us this month, fairly nice city. Thanks and good luck with all the rhetoric.

[ranger1948]

oksnfrcr
The computer took off on a mind of its own.
As i was saying i have never had an incident with an officer whe i have been stopped. I follow instructions, remain polite and do not have a problem. I think your comment will fall on a lot of deaf ears here as they are prejudice and nothing you say can change their minds. They haven''t been in your shoes and know not what you face on a daily basis. I for one appreciate what you and fellow officers do for us. Thank You.

[ranger1948]

oksnfrcr
One of the best writtn articles i have r4ead on here.

[ranger1948]

oksnfrcr
One of the best writtn articles i have r4ead on here.

[ranger1948]

oksnfrcr
One of the best writtn articles i have r4ead on here.

[ranger1948]

oksnfrcr
One of the best writtn articles i have r4ead on here.

[ranger1948]

oksnfrcr
One of the best writtn articles i have r4ead on here.

[ranger1948]

oksnfrcr
One of the best writtn articles i have r4ead on here.