| Birmingham police beating video |
Five Birmingham police officers have been fired for a January 2008 beating of an already-unconscious suspect with fists, feet and a billy club, a battering caught on videotape until a police officer turned off the patrol car camera, city and police officials said today.
Authorities believe the video, [see the full chase here] taken after a high-speed chase by several area law enforcement agencies ended when the fleeing suspect’s van flipped, has been seen by numerous Birmingham officers and up to a half dozen supervisors over the past year. But top city and police officials weren’t made aware of the taped beating until they were contacted by the district attorney’s office two months ago.
In fact, investigators say, the suspect, Anthony Warren, didn’t even know he’d been beaten until the tape surfaced at his trial in March. Warren was ejected from the vehicle and knocked unconscious, and thought all of his injuries were sustained in the wreck.
Police Chief A.C. Roper called the video “shameful.” Mayor Larry Langford said it was “disgusting.”
If the cops ever get wise to the fact they are being taped, we will being seeing much less of this. Of course it will still go on, we just won’t see it.
Of course they had to beat him, they left thier tazers in the cruiser. ;_P
All too young or stupid to recall the words “Smile you’re on candid camera”.
I usually agree that law enforcement officials are stepping outside the lines, but in this instance I can see the justification for attacking er..approaching the suspect that way.
He was attempting to elude capture, he nearly ran over a police officer while evading stop sticks, and put several innocent bystanders at risk. They [cops] had no idea that he was unconscious when he was ejecting from the van and only beat him for approx. 12 seconds until they realized the he was unconscious and not moving. Based on his previous behavior he could have continue to present a real danger.
Still no excuse for beating another person, but it’s not as bad as the article makes it out to be!
“They [cops] had no idea that he was unconscious when he was ejecting from the van and only beat him for approx. 12 seconds until they realized the he was unconscious and not moving.”
Read The article, it says they stopped to turn off the camera. Who knows what happened next.
An ejection from a vehicle, like that one in the video, usually means the person is either dead or critically injured. Dopey cops.
Who gives a shit? He nearly killed a cop, nearly killed other innocent bystanders.
He SHOULD get beaten for that.
probably retaliation for side-swiping their spike-laying buddy, but it’s no excuse.
cops shouldn’t be allowed to turn those cameras off
They should have peed on him and then rolled the van back on top of him.
Heh, caught by their own camera. They should be fired for rank stupidity.
I got three things out of this.
A) Don’t try to run over a cop.
B) Wear your seatbelt.
C) Know that cops are too stupid to turn off their OWN DASH CAMS before beating you senseless.
#3, #6.. Your rationalization to justify what you see is equally amazing. As if law enforcement somehow is also privileged to “get even” as they see fit.
Sickening that people actually celebrate this type of behavior out of law enforcement.
No excuse to beat someone when they are unconscious.
This is a rare case where they actually fired the idiot cops. However, I hope the guy they beat still goes to jail. He could have killed someone.
He almost killed a cop and endangered who-knows-how-many people on the road. If anyone deserves a good beating, it’s that guy.
If more people took a beating for crap like this, maybe we’d see less of it happening.
McCullogh, if you watched some a-hole nearly kill Dvorak by running him over, and you caught up to him, what would you do? Give him a hug?
How many people did this “suspect” put at risk, innocent people who are not even cops, just riding on the road.
Honestly, if I had been the guy that threw those spikes, I would have shot the son of a bitch. Things are tough on the streets. You don’t hire Saints as cops either.
First of all, the police officers should have beaten this scum bag some more, and more brutally. The SOB almost killed a cop during the chase as can clearly be seen in the video. Of course, nothing should be done to the officers.
Second thing, at the end of the article, the loser Mayor of birmingham, Larry Langford says: “We put cameras in the cars for their protection,” he said of the officers. “These idiots were too stupid to know they would film them doing something wrong, too.”
This is corrupt politician, that is under investigation of the SEC:
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/12/birmingham_mayor_larry_langfor_15.html
I wish the police officers to live long and prosper and I hope the “mayor” will go to prison.
#14. It appeared the guy deserved a beat down. But that doesn’t mean they should actually do it. It’s a matter of law.
We used to have a thing called due process in this country. There was good reason for it. Cops cannot be allowed to administer punishment. They were fired for that reason.
These guys are police officers not judge and jury to delve out any form of punishment “they” feel fit.
“But top city and police officials weren’t made aware of the taped beating until they were contacted by the district attorney’s office two months ago.”
this happened over 1 year ago, and is NOW coming to court??
5 of those Officers were just fired. That roach probably will have his health bills paid and a ticket out of jail card punched.
# 11 Dallas said, on May 20th, 2009 at 8:58 am
#3, #6.. Your rationalization to justify what you see is equally amazing. As if law enforcement somehow is also privileged to “get even” as they see fit.
Sickening that people actually celebrate this type of behavior out of law enforcement.
I in no way condone that behavior, but cops are people and people get bent out of shape when they’re almost run over by a fleeing criminal.
As far as rationalizing…well you’ve obviously rationalized what you’ve seen to feel the way you do. It’s human nature to contort what we see into our own sphere of knowledge. That’s why there are prejudices and biases which everyone is guilty of.
The officer trying to deploy the spike strips did get run over by the “suspect”. His leg ended up under that van. It was obvious he was trying to kill that officer.
Its worst then shooting a unarmed person in the back!!
What if the guy was just texting while driving and just fucked up?
If they would just shoot these a-holes that start these car chases then they wouldn’t have to beat them.
A lot of you idiots need to become cops and show them how it’s done, IF you were men!
#12 Haven’t you learned, Ben; there are always people who will make excuses for people in authority.
We’ve become a nation of pansy boot lickers.
The best defense against abusive cops? An armed public.
Ever wonder why cops like restrictive gun laws? So they can abuse with impunity.
Remember an armed society is a polite society.
“until a police officer turned off the patrol car camera”
They can turn them off????
Many of the responses in this thread are down-right scary. This creep should spend a great deal of time in jail, right next to the moronic ex-cops that blatantly violated his civil rights.
# 26 Li
“We’ve become a nation of pansy boot lickers.”
So true, welcome to the new Reagen/Bush America.
This tape so clearly demonstrates COPS don’t need any degree of resistance, talk back or danger to throw the first punch, kick …..
Cops are maladjusted animals first, then; they become tame, professionals and innocent people who are just trying to do a good job when before the Judge explaining the story.
It your word against theirs, unless there is a tape from a camera.