POLICE COMMISSIONER Charles H. Ramsey yesterday asked Philadelphians not “to rush to judgment” when watching a video showing baton-wielding cops repeatedly striking, kicking and stomping three young men whom they had stopped after a triple shooting in Hunting Park.
“On the surface, it certainly does not look good in terms of the amount of force that was used,” Ramsey said during a news conference with Mayor Nutter at police headquarters.
Ramsey said that an Internal Affairs investigation is under way. He expressed concern for the mental well-being of the entire force, which is still reeling in the wake of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski’s slaying last weekend…
“The video is the video,” Mayor Nutter said. “We have no audio. You don’t know what was going on at that moment when the officers approached the vehicle. There will be an investigation and we will move on.”
Does wearing a badge permit you to be a vigilante?
>> Janky-o said, on May 7th, 2008 at 6:00 am
>> I’m sure this was just a few bad apples. And I’m sure they didn’t actually do anything wrong.
So if these guys are “bad apples” you think this kind of police work is OK?
C’mon man. This is wrong, even if the guys are guilty. Where are your standards?
This is supposedly an 11 minute video, but all that is shown is the same 30-40 seconds over and over again. I doubt the officers are worried. 8 years ago there was a similar video of a suspect who was beaten and shot. The police officer’s were found to have acted within department guidelines for use of force.
The suspect initiated a lawsuit against the city, but dropped it when he was simultaneously sued by several of his victims.
Everyone deserves their ‘day in court’. (This is the land of innocent till proven guilty )
>>What’s with the blasting retard
>>background music?
Hey, don’t be calling Bob Marley a “retard”!! And I’m sure the person who posted the video on YouTube dubbed in the sound track. I can’t see Faux News getting down wif da king of Reggae.
#11 – I think we need to put ourselves in their shoes. Violence in big cities is out of control.
Is violence more or less out of control than in every other year when the public declares it “out of control” and how does out of control compare to actual crime statistics.
If you want to claim violence is out of control… then prove it… And if it really is, you next need to ask why? before you start thinking about how to subdue it.
#14 – Mac Guy, give it up, these forums have long been part of the “blame the police first” crowd.
Bullshit. These threads represent many sides and points of views.
If there is such a thing as a “blame the police first” crowd, a slam that clearly telegraphs your agenda long before your argument enters the room, it might only be because a certain segment of the population… say for the example the “not living like chickenshit rich white fucks in the suburbs” crowd… might be tired of watch cops act like stormtroopers.
Sorry if I telegraphed my agenda back there…
for those of you that don’t know, all the philly cops are amped up right now because a cop got shot here just the other day
you don’t know from this video if the kids had pointed a gun or even shot at the police
i’m not making excuses, just providing some more back story
sorry, let me clarify the police officer was shot and killed, the suspect is still on the loose, they may have thought it was the shooter in the car
news story
These cops are bitter about the loss of jobs due to NAFTA and the drop in crime, so they are clinging to their weapons and beatdowns.
#38 philly is actually setting new records for homicides as we speak so you are wrong on that count, and actually the new mayor in philly just hired a bunch of new cops so nafta’s not causing any job losses so you are wrong on that count, too.
you might want to check your facts before you talk. or not.
whatever.
#39 I think MikeN was joking about O’mama’s condescending remarks about PA voters. 😉
Way over the line. No excuses. No whitewashing.
They had numerical superiority and established control by surrounding the car. No need to step up to violence at this level.
When will people realize they will be taped in many cases? If not the news chopper, then perhaps someone with a video camera in their phone.
But these guys were working purely on emotion and adrenaline alone. Crowd think. No time for logic to think of the consequences of their actions to their own careers or to the community at large. And their fellow officers respect.
#40 aaaaaah. my bad.
>>They had numerical superiority and
>>established control by surrounding the car.
Not only that, but even after they had the guys cuffed and face-down on the street, they STILL kept kicking the shit out of them and dragging them around by their arms.
#24, pat,
Why were they running from the police? No excuse of course but, what crime did those guys just commit?
They weren’t running from the police. They were running from a shooting. One of them had just shot three other men in an apparent “payback” shooting. The shooter ran on foot. The three here ran from the scene and jumped into their car. They did not shoot anyone, no weapons were found, and there apparently wasn’t a flight from the police. There is also no evidence that they knew the fourth suspect planned on shooting the three victims or that they even knew he had a weapon.
#21, Lyin’MikeN
Your idiocy never ceases to amaze me.
I wouldn’t want a rush to judgment either. I still remember how they showed video of Rodney King getting beaten up, and it turned out it was only part of the tape, and the cops were justified.
The cops were found guilty in a Federal Court and the city settled for eight million. The cops were not justified except in small weenie brains like yours.
#31, redwolf,
Why is the video so short?
The beating of the two suspects takes up a minute of the video. The remaining 10 minutes show officers rolling the suspects as they search their pockets, search the vehicle, and, ultimately, take them away in separate patrol vehicles.
They were found not guilty, then after the rioting, they retried the case in federal court. In any other case this blog would be on here talking about George Bush’s evil justice Department ignoring double jeopardy.
Cops should give beat downs more. Call it preventing more crime. When your child does something very wrong, you give him a little spanking. Bigger kids need bigger spankings that’s all. Now find the ass who tried to steal my vespa and give them the same.
I’d invite the cops to kick the hell out of me for, say, a 2 million $ windfall. My standards are just a little lower than King’s.
RBG
>>They were found not guilty
Uh…Laurence Powell was found guilty. Better check your facts before you speak. Or not. Whatever!
>>When your child does something very wrong,
>>you give him a little spanking.
Not all of us are proponents of corporal punishment as a “parenting” tool, son. And somehow, our kids end up with a far lower incidence of sex offenders and murderous felons than those who received those “little spankings”.
Looks like you’re not “the answer” after all.
“What’s with the blasting retard background music?”
Given the title of this post, I thought it would be some Rush, but it sounds like a cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff”… was a sheriff shot?
Hospital bill, passed on to the State…$100,000+
WHICH the State has to pay, from YOUR taxes.
Lawsuit…$1,000,000 each…When they get out of jail.
IF’ they werent the ones to kill the Officer…
DONT ask how much they will get.
Lets just say that the CITY wont be able to pay it.
PS..
did anyone see a BLACK cop in that video??
MikeN – double jeopardy doesn’t apply in a civil context. The federal suit was civil in nature – that’s where you go when you want to claim a state official violated your federal rights (remember that thing called the Constitution?) There’s a (albeit legal) difference between criminal guilt and simple responsibility.
This looks like an equally good lawsuit, however.
Regardless of what kind of crime these guys committed, I would hate to think they deserved to be beaten by three rampaging police officers for a minute. There’s a (I would argue “huge”) difference between “subduing” a subject and “kicking a suspect repeatedly over the head.” I mean really, what this comes down to is: would you like three cops to beat you over the head for a minute only because the cops are “amped up” about a coworker being killed a week ago?
(Also – to stave off anyone’s arguments; the principle of Innocent Until Guilty implies that we are all treated equally under the law, which means that whatever crime the suspects here may or may not have committed actually doesn’t enter into it. The cops are no more or less clairvoyant than you are; and regularly not as wise.)
((Double also, while I hate to be callous, it’s kind of a fact of life that police officers are going to get shot; it’s also a fact of life that police officers don’t catch every bad guy. To justify this simply because the two happened to intersect [which I guarantee will happen more often than not, given that police work is a dangerous line of work and all] is dangerous and poor justification indeed. I understand any “grief” they might have; I will even grant them “anxiety” or “fear”, but that, for me, will never justify barbarism.))
I am sure these cops are patriotic god fearing Americans.
I think the SUSPECTS are less patriotic and likely not very god fearing.
We don’t pay our patriots to think, we pay and train our patriots to act decisively on instinct. Arm Chair quarter backing the video is not evidence of crime.
Don’t believe your eyes, you doesn’t have enough background info to know or the right to question police tactics.
This should only be about how our god fearing patriotic government servants felt at the moment toward our less god fearing and less patriotic SUSPECTs. How dare anyone question our police.
Give me an Amen.
Nuf said!
>>Give me an Amen.
Knock it off with the “God fearing” shit, will you, Satan?
#56, Alex,
I will even grant them “anxiety” or “fear”, but that, for me, will never justify barbarism.)
Well said.
Welcome to the Police States of America, where the cops don’t have to obey the law, because they ARE the law!