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.

[kennedy7955]

The parents are focused on the arrest and the beating, not on the fact that their son is a murder suspect. The inner city often look at crime and ensuing jail time as a rite of passage, almost as if their youth were going off to college. The crime of their neighborhoods, the terror and violence that is part of everyday life desensitizes the residents to the blight and warps their reality. The parents of a murder suspect are more concerned about a beating than the end of their son''s life - or the life that he has taken.

Al Sharpton is an demagogue, an opportunist seeking only self promotion, cares nothing of the true victims and has proven to get it wrong much of the time. Tawana Brawley and the Brown University Lacrosse team come to mind.

It is time that this country created a zero tolerance policy for crime and violence. African Americans are bearing the brunt of this violence and as a group are disproportionately the perpetrators and victims of this violence. Al Sharpton should be more concerned about this state of affairs.

Our country is so terribly broken and the real issues, like a policeman shot to death on the streets takes second place to a beating of the suspects. As a country we must look at our state of affairs and start being honest with ourselves about the country we live in and the country we want it to be.

[rosesnpearls]

Well said, kennedy and easttx. Well thought out. Sharpton is a mockery.

[pfd572]

I am disturbed by all the comments directed at the Police Dept. and not one comment by the parents or Rev. Sharpton about the suspects having been allegedly involved in a violent crime themselves. Were is the outrage over their victims? I would take their outrage and concern more seriously if they addressed the violent event that led up to the chase and arrests. The officers'' behavior was outrageous, yes. But the suspects behavior was just as bad, if not worse.

[imotorist]

Sharpton is not the national spokesman for any of our diverse citizens. Our local leaders pointed this out.

[idnnsg]

pfd572 says, "not one comment by the parents or Rev. Sharpton about the suspects having been allegedly involved in a violent crime"

The key word there is ALLEGEDLY. Cops do NOT have the right to beat the hell out of people just because they ALLEGEDLY committed a crime. (In fact, they do NOT have the right to beat the hell out of people even if they did commit a crime!) The cops'' job is to arrest suspects, NOT to punish them. They are NOT judge, jury, and executioner!

The police commissioner said, "emotions are running high," AS IF that makes any difference. Do you REALLY think cops should have the right to beat the hell out of people any time their "emotions are running high"? What about the rest of us? Is it OK if I beat the *** out of you next time my "emotions are running high"? Let me know. Sometimes I think I could use a punching bag.

[prinzowhales]

Al Sharpton is a piece of cr*p--like Bush, he poisons any issue he touches. Don''t let his presence distract us from the fact that the beating of these citizens was a crime...just as was the murder of Mr. Bell.

Not surprisingly, Sharpton doesn''t mention--nor does the national media--the gunning down of a CIA agent by Houston Police in what was for all intents an purposes an assassination. If you haven''t heard about this, ask yourself, "Why not?" He was the head of the local chapter of retired intelligence agents... why was he murdered?

[consciousnes]

Who really cares what Rev. Al Sharpton thinks? It is the FACTS that count. Not someone that has a big mouth.
GET THE FACTS AND THEN PUT THAT IN THE NEWS, NOT HYPE

[omnibus66]

It is a shame that Sharpton, and not someone with more community standing, has become the spokesman for the black community. If these three were suspects in a crime, they should have been apprehended and taken into custody. There was no reason to beat the c_r_a_p out of them.

These cops, from what I witnessed on the tape, are guilty of criminal assault, a felony. The department saying that they will "disciplined" is utter nonsense, and is tantamount to declaring that they are above the law, because they are cops.

The law either protects all of us, or it protects none of us.

[eliteair-2009]

I was wondering wy Sharpton did not visit when the Philadelphia police officer was gunned down last week. Hmmm.

[alexma50085]

Al needs to keep his azz out of this. Nobody likes him, he''s a bully, and he just accelerates racial tensions in the U.S. To me, Al is an equal the the Grand Wizard of the KKK, both push hate and fear into the American public.

[rowdytexan2]

OK, FINE! Next time just stand back and let these people shoot each other!

Good deal!

[usmcvn2]

Its going to take years to unfu*ck this country. All
the negative stuff going on will get worse before its gets better.

Keep your powder dry Sportsfans.




And remember Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control
them.

[jjp735i]

Al Sharpton is nothing more than a media hound seeking a sound byte.

[tomanyt]

Al the racist is back at it again. Why does the media even pay attention to this idiot.

[ioweign]

Where was/is Scalia ??

[barbaraf4]

"The law either protects all of us, or it protects none of us." Posted by omnibus66
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well said!

[rodgert-2009]

Well! That''s it! I''m going to boycott all black products

Al-------------SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP YOU RACIST!!!!!!!

[prinzowhales]

Remember! Ms. Palfrey was murdered before she could could tell us who her important clients were. Only days before she was seeing about having her condo fees paid the years she would be in jail. She would have lots of time to write her book in the Big House...and it would be a minimum security facility.

Look into the murder of a CIA agent by Houston police...Remember Vince Foster''s murder? Its still unresolved...not amazingly many witnesses changed their initial stories with the help of the FBI to fit the suicide scenario...those who didn''t were harassed and intimidated.

Don''t accustom yourself to these murders and the police violence against citizens...whether its the killing of an unarmed man in a hail of bullets or murder by taser...or brutal beatings by subhuman scum with badges.

When you ''accept'' such things, they move on to new and worse attrocities.

[acolton1]

Its the Philadelphia police dept. The Cops Responsible for the beating will get off scott free and all charges will be dismisses. AND THAT SUCKS.

[poedude99-2009]

When do we get the names of the pigs who are such menaces to our city?

Gerald Clough
http://www.savagerun.com

OMUIBUSS66----YOU TYPICAL BLEEDING HEART LIBERAL!!!
YOU TRY BEING A COP FOR A WEEK IN THAT TOWN AND THEN MAYBE I''LL LISTEN TO YOU!!!

[ponco seno]

They deserved the beating - leave the cops alone.

[berniepeders]

As a country we must look at our state of affairs and start being honest with ourselves about the country we live in and the country we want it to be.
Posted by kennedy7955 at 08:23 AM : May 09

Bravo! Well stated. I watched the seven minute video taken from the helicopter, and although it may seem a bit "shocking" at first glance, these guys were thugs who grew up with an anti-police mentality. I''m sure they were far from cooperative, and the beating part didn''t last (I would estimate)more than 20-30 seconds. The rest was all just milling around getting them in cuffs and into the vehicles.

there is no compelling evidence that these men were who the pigs were lookin for. As for Ramsey''s excuse of oficer stress, you mean of 15 cops, no one called off the others. This type of police thugism is rampant in the northeastern US where the cops are actually gangs.

[phillygirl65]

This makes me sick! Thanks to the Philadelphia Police these criminals are now going to get our tax dollars!! Where is the professionalizm?! What makes them different from the kids who beat that man down in the subway? Weren''t the kids under stress? Heck! We''re all under stress!! Depending on what part of the city you live in you''re understress in your own living room. That''s no excuse for the actions these cops displayed. Who trains the Philadelphia Police? Whom ever it is they need to be fired! Speaking for fired...what''s up with the new Commissioner? I still say Ross should have been the Commissioner. He grew up in Philly, has been or the force for a very long time, and he knows the history of Philly crime and our police procedures.
Nutter is just that a NUT!!
Why does Al Sharpton have to come down here? Can''t we the citizens of Philadelphia handle this ourselves? We don''t have any active community leaders to step up and help out? Or our they funded by the city to "keep the peace"

[joe1022joe]

Al Sharpton is just another in the lengthening line of people in the "civil rights" industry who make a living by exacerbating racial discord in this country. Of course, if the media didn''t report his statements and doings, he would would be relegated to the obscurity he so richly deserves. Twana Brawley revisited.

[Hybdiesel]

There will never be peace for blacks as long as they have leaders like sharptongue and wright speaking for them. Wish sharptongue had been in the car then I could praise the cops.

[samrensho]

Ha, Ha, ha. When DOESN''T Al Sharpton "chime in". He, like Jesse Jackson, is always available for sound bites for use by the politician of the moment. Must be a slow news day CBS.

[okcnfrcr]

Why you cannot condone unreasonable force and I am sure it will be accounted for, I seriously think omnibus66 and a few others need to strap on a gun, uniform and a law book and walk the line in any major city. Now you need to understand that you cannot just sit around and not put people in jail or not write tickets. You can''t, when mandated by law or by circumstance just ignore an arrest to make yourself the good guy. You have to arrive on a scene of a brutal killing of innocent people by trash of society and see the victim''s family pain and then endure questions of bigotry when an arrest is made an the trash is black, ignoring the evidence of the case..to be continued

[okcnfrcr]

Sorry continued. and then see the same suspects comit crime after crime and see their hands get slapped and set free from prison early due to bleeding hearts and complacent Americans who are afraid to speak up. You have to listen to stupid rhetoric about donuts and the such from ignorant people trying to impress their other ignorant friends. You see a city like Philadelphia who has 400 murders in a year put on edge where most cities are unlucky to have maybe 60 or 70 (even 1 is too many). I challenge anyone who wants to see what law enforcement does to partake in a ride along program to see the trash of our society who refuse to work legally and prey on the good citizens every day and then watch them intimidate the neighborhoods into not becoming witnesses to the crime. In other words I don''t condone unreasonable conduct and think it should be addressed, but I also don''t condone racist, whiney ignorant remarks that brand a whole profession who the majority go out everyday and put their lives on the line to make a difference. In other words if you have the guts, I will see that you get an application from your juridiction and will be happy to train you on how to be a "difference" in your community instead of a Monday Morning Quarterback.

[redlipsahead]

I would listen to Al Sharpton if he wasn''t such a one-sided racist. If he ever came forward when similar things happen to someone besides a black person, his words might mean something. Until then, the garbage that he speaks will remain garbage.

[edward1975-2009]

Sharpton, what a joke! This case just lost all credibility with Sharpton involved. He will go to all lengths to have a mike stuck in his racist face. Between Sharpton and Jackson, it''s hard telling which is the bigger idiot. Never can be that these guys were criminals, has to be that they were choirboys goming home from church and the bad old policeman jumped on these pillars of the community for no reason, other than they were black. And we wonder why we have race issues in the U.S.

[redlipsahead]

Racist *** like this is why the majority of white voters will never vote for Obama if he goes up against McCain.

[dmeade1020]

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are nothing but a couple of racist instigators. All they want to do is keep the racial tension going. Where were they when the white couple in Knoxville, TN were carjacked, raped repeatedly (both of them), tortured for hours and murdered (she was stuffed into garbage bags and suffocated, he was shot in the head and his body set on fire) by 4 blacks?
I''ll admit that while blacks do have a lot to overcome, being minorities, they have more opportunities to succeed than most of us but so many choose not to take advantage of those opportunities, opting instead to steal, rob, sell drugs and kill rather than work for what they want. The fact that roughly 20% of the population is black but they account for about 90% of the crime speaks for itself.
As far as the cops, if those guys were murder suspects and were resisting arrest, I''m sure it wouldn''t have mattered what color they were, the outcome would have been the same. And if they had been white, I''m sure ''ole Mr. Sharpton would have had nothing to say about it, as usual.

[gopack443]

I believe violence ALWAYS leads to more violence regardless of who is perpetuating it.
That''s why it''s so important that the police are above letting there emotions get the best of them and commit acts of violence themselves, We need the police to be the good guys no mater what kind people there dealing with. What comes around really does go around, no mater who someone is.

[gopack443]

I believe violence ALWAYS leads to more violence regardless of who is perpetuating it.
That''s why it''s so important that the police are above letting there emotions get the best of them and commit acts of violence themselves, We need the police to be the good guys no mater what kind people there dealing with. What comes around really does go around, no mater who someone is.

[ranger1948]

redlipsahead
As lojng as you allow *** like sharpton to get involved they will keep the racial hatred burning. I will not vote for obama because i believe he is a racist and at least a terrorist sympathyzer. His wife made it clear to everyone she is a racist. You give me a black person who is qualified and not a racists or a terrorist and they will get my vote. I don''t like bush or mccain and i am tired of the same old politics we have been getting for years.

[megamanx1-2009]

It''''s people like Sharpton that perpetuate some the stereotypes that plague colored people today.


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Posted by easttx390 at 08:20 AM : May 09, 2008

COLORED PEOPLE??? BWAHAHAHAAHA!!!!!

[a_negroeman]

Us Negroes are only concerned about making Negro ghetto babies that we will not love or nurture. When they go up they are depraved and join a gang and commit murder. When we commit too many murders we tick off the whites in which they react to us in a upset way. Then we cry racism because it take the view off of our actions of crime and place it on the whites response of hurt! This way we are allowed to get away with murder. Get it murder. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

[ranger1948]

on their way to choir practice. I am sure none of them have ever been in trouble with the law before, and will be cleared of all these false charges against them.

[megamanx1-2009]

I would listen to Al Sharpton if he wasn''''t such a one-sided racist. If he ever came forward when similar things happen to someone besides a black person, his words might mean something. Until then, the garbage that he speaks will remain garbage.


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Posted by redlipsahead at 11:02 AM : May 09, 2008

YOU WANT HIM TO COME FORWARD AND DEFEND WHITE PEOPLE? YOU ALREADY HAVE RUSH LIMBAUGH FOR THAT.

[megamanx1-2009]

Racist *** like this is why the majority of white voters will never vote for Obama if he goes up against McCain.


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Posted by redlipsahead at 11:04 AM : May 09, 2008

AND RACIST *** LIKE RUSH LIMBAUGH IS WHY THE MAJORITY OF BLACK VOTERS WILL NEVER VOTE FOR MCCAIN IF HE GOES UP AGAINST OBAMA

[mjvw2]

they are such sweet innocent children

[brianbwb-2009]

"Us Negroes are only concerned about making Negro ghetto babies that we will not love or nurture. When they go up they are depraved and join a gang and commit murder. When we commit too many murders we tick off the whites in which they react to us in a upset way. Then we cry racism because it take the view off of our actions of crime and place it on the whites response of hurt! This way we are allowed to get away with murder. Get it murder. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha." Posted by A_NegroeMan

And Santa claus is real. Do your buddies in the kkk know that you are on line posing as a "negro"? Your ignorance is so apparent, your lies so blatant, and your fake claim to ethnicity so ridiculous that you make a drag queen look like Jessica Alba.

[brianbwb-2009]

"they are such sweet innocent children" Posted by mjvw2

Quite possible, it is also possible that they are not, but bottom line is that it is for courts to decide, not police, or such ignorant people as would judge them based on how they look.

[a_negroeman]

Us Negroes are only concerned about making Negro ghetto babies that we will not love or nurture. When they go up they are depraved and join a gang and commit murder. When we commit too many murders we tick off the whites in which they react to us in a upset way. Then we cry racism because it take the view off of our actions of crime and place it on the whites response of hurt! This way we are allowed to get away with murder. Get it murder. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

[brianbwb-2009]

"on their way to choir practice. I am sure none of them have ever been in trouble with the law before, and will be cleared of all these false charges against them."
Posted by ranger1948

Once again ranger, you miss the point. Before they are even charged, they are already punished by a police action. Whether guilty or innocent, the police have no legal, or moral right to presume to punish anyone before due process has run its course, then if it is warranted, it still is not the policemen''s job to administer the punishment.

Perhaps it is time to abolish city, county, and state police, and use the military for this function, then at least we have official accountability, should some thugs in uniform decide to play Judge Dredd.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by A_NegroeMan

And Santa claus is real. Do your buddies in the kkk know that you are on line posing as a "negro"? Your ignorance is so apparent, your lies so blatant, and your fake claim to ethnicity so ridiculous that you make a drag queen look like Jessica Alba.

Not to mention that your spelling indicates a lack of education typical of your ilk.

[dmeade1020]

YOU WANT HIM TO COME FORWARD AND DEFEND WHITE PEOPLE? YOU ALREADY HAVE RUSH LIMBAUGH FOR THAT.

Posted by MegamanX1 at 11:20 AM : May 09, 2008

Nobody said anything about him "defending white people." He''s supposed to be against "racial discrimination" and that means ALL races. He''s always ready to step and defend blacks, whether they''re at fault or not, but when blacks are the perpetrators, it''s another story. He just turns a blind eye. Rather than calling for all blacks to stop the violence, he just calls for more violence, and that''s just wrong!