on one hand the guy was endangering the public and actually hit a cop injuring him

on the other hand when the van rolled he was thrown from the vehicle and the cops began beating him while he was unconcious

see the video and decide for yourself. were the cops justified or were they out of control?

the cops involved were fired and the guy is filing a multi million dollar lawsuit


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN41h0GEmys

The thing that's really disgusting is that the accused criminal, the driver, in question will likely get a settlement because these officers abandoned professionalism and acted no better than criminals themselves engaging in mob mentality.

Just think...had they maintained their professionalism this guy would likely be going to jail for speeding, reckless driving, endangering the public, assault with the intent to do great bodily harm, maybe attempted murder along with a whole slew of other charges.

By acting outside the law the officers ensured a clearly dangerous and reckless person will likely not only go free but go free with a fatter wallet.

This video and what will likely unfold in it's aftermath is precisely why officers must act within the law at all times. Their firing was justified.

No matter what happens, you cannot do what they did. You do your job, let the justice system hand out the punishment.

First let me say that what they did was wrong. Second, I hope the officer that was hit by the van files a larger counter suit, unless he was one of those that was involved with the beating.

There's no need to hit someone unless they're resisting, and he looked out cold. They should have just cuffed him, and stuffed him in a cruiser.

When I was a kid, some dude held up a 7-11 in my hometown. There was a shootout between he and the police, and he shot Officer Jogman in the head, putting him into a coma that lasted until he died, some ten years later. The butthead was shot in the abdomen, and the bullet ended up putting him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

He sued the town, and the officers involved. Lost instantly the first day in court because in Illinois, there's a law that says if your actions cause your injuries, you cannot sue someone else.

He, by the action of the robbery, caused himself to be put in a wheelchair. End of story.

dam i wish justus system worked !


hm free room and 3 meals a day , free medical ! hell of a punishment !

(CNN) -- Five police officers brutally kicked and beat an unconscious suspect after a high-speed chase through Birmingham, Alabama, in an incident caught on camera and discovered a year later.


Video shows one black and four white officers beating and kicking unconscious man ejected from car.

The five officers have been fired, Mayor Larry Langford said at a news conference Wednesday. An internal inquiry is continuing.

The dashboard-cam footage, which officials believe was shot in January 2008, was aired for reporters Wednesday. It showed the end of a 100-mile-an-hour police chase of a van driven by Anthony Warren, suspected of illegal drug activity.

Police had chased the van almost 50 miles, winding from downtown Birmingham to suburban Hoover. The video captured the van knocking down a police officer standing on a roadway, then turning up an interstate highway ramp, where it flipped over and rolled into a ditch.

Warren was ejected from the van and stopped moving. The five officers -- one black, four white -- ruthlessly beat the suspect, who is black, the video shows. Watch the tape that lead to the officers' dismissal »

A police mug shot taken five days after the beating was posted on the Web site of The Birmingham News. It shows a badly bruised man wearing a neck brace.

Police Chief A.C. Roper told CNN that the video was brought to his attention in March by the district attorney's office, which stumbled upon the footage as it was preparing for Warren's trial.

Warren was charged with attempted murder, but no trial took place because he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault. He is in prison serving a 20-year sentence.

Roper said he was "shocked" to learn of the video and that it had been around for so long without his knowledge.

In addition to a continuing internal investigation that could lead to disciplining supervisors, he said the Alabama Bureau of Investigation is considering criminal charges against the five officers.

Langford said the incident brought back to mind days of segregation and police brutality toward blacks.

"The culture of the past was that police brutality was acceptable," Langford said. "In Birmingham, Alabama, in the present day, it is not acceptable."

Langford said the five officers showed exceptional restraint in chasing the fleeing suspect and performed in exemplary fashion until the last scene caught on the video.

The camera captured 11 seconds of the five officers beating Warren with their fists and batons.


"Those 11 seconds will not be tolerated," said Langford, who signed letters of termination for the five officers on Tuesday.

"Over 50 years of combined police experience gone over 11 seconds," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/20/alabama.police.beating/index.html#cnnSTCText


for those that can't view the video

all the problems we have hear and we wory about some thugs get abused lol !

because it's an abuse of the law by people that shouldknow better. cops should do what they need to in order to restrain someone...not take cheap shots at someone that was unconscious that wasn't even putting up a fight....they caught him...there was no need to do what they did

get a rope , or the gilatine

while I support police officers in general, and think they have a difficult, demanding - and often thankless job to do...

i don't undertand what leads to this behavior from the officers... it's almost a "chase mentality" that causes unneccissary auto accidents, and beatings at the end of the chase.. it's almost like they want to capture so bad, they project all of their frustrations out on the poor bastard at the end... not cool...

imho: this was way over the top... they deserve the discipline...

imho2: the guys should still be prosecuted for HIS crimes, what the cops did should not allow him to get off from the offenses he committed....

I agree with you. I am from a cop family. I know that cops are human but just as humans...you just can't do what they did without paying the price

the guy that they chased...yes should stand trial. he risked a lot of lives when he ran...not just the cops lives but innocent drivers on the road. and he should stand trial for the original charge of drugs

Where do we get these cops? From a local Gang? Geezuz.

The butthead they were chasing should get punished for his crime, period, and should not win a settlement to me, because his actions brought about what happened to him, right or wrong. The cops should loose their jobs and be prosecuted as well. Ya, I know it probably won't work that way.

The injured officer should be the only one winning a settlement if he was not part of the beating.

Geezuz, beating an unconscious person is pathetic behavior for an officer of the law.

HEYEEEEE Virgil!!!! Good to see you.

Kat

Kinda makes me wonder if was playing dead. Acting as if he were unconcious. But....in that kind of accident he could and may very well have been out like a light. These cops were running on adrinalin....pure and simple. And he hit a cop!! Whoa!!! Shouldn't do that.

I think lawsuits while commiting a crime should be "nada"!
I mean if that son of a bich had hit one of my own and I caught him.....wouldn't be pretty. Be damn my job.

Kat

kat...it's not just against your job. it's against the law. it's an assault. the guy they were chasing (even if he was faking being unconscious) wasn't fighting them or resisting arrest when he was thrown from the car. cops are trained to handle things like this and these cops were wrong

Not justified, not a visible threat. When he went for the officer with his van shooting him would have been justified...after he loses conciousness there is no reason to beat him.

I had some continuing education classes not long ago that were required for folks taking criminal justice degrees. Most of the young men in my classes were hoping to be police officers.

One Monday evening a classmate, the twenty year old son of a local prosecutor, showed up bruised and cut. He shared his weekend adventure with the class quite enthusiastically and it prompted a discussion that the instructor, a former policeman and the head of the metro areas security for the public schools, joined in on.

"Fighting is fun isn't it?!", instructor.

"Yeah, I love bustin' heads. That's what I do on the weekend. Maybe have a few brews and look for fights", kid.

"Yep I remember when I was your age. I was always looking for fights. That's one of the reasons I became a cop", instructor.

"Yeah I know, I can't wait till I can bust some heads legally", kid.

With this the instructor chuckled as many or really most of the young men in the class voiced their enthusiasm for fighting. What followed was another twenty minutes or so of stories from the instructor of the enjoyable violence he had engaged in while serving as a police officer until one woman got up and walked out of the class. Her departure seemed to remind him that maybe he shouldn't be sharing the things he was and we got back on task.

Oh, the class subject material? Ethics in law enforcement.

If that instructor and those potential young officers are an indication of what even a small fraction of officers are like that is a problem. It is suppose to be protect and serve after all and not brutalize and bully.

Helllooooo....I wasn't saying it was right. Duhhh...just saying I get it. Cops have always been a bit rough. People now demand more accountability though.

Still....that man would have been lucky to make it to court if it had been my kid he hit with that car.

Kat