My point is this story isn't just about the beating. That's bad enough if true, but that has to be worked out. The other part of this story is completely independent of whether that guy deserved to be beaten to death, and that is the issue of the police confiscating the phones.
This has been a nationwide issue for a while. It's not just a matter of phones being taken and returned later either. People have been arrested and prosecuted for simply taping the police.
The police do not have the right to confiscate your video phone because you recorded them, whether it was a beating or a traffic stop or just hanging out at the donut shop. They do this because they don't want to be accountable. Don't let them get away with it.
They ought not have the authority to do it, but in some jurisdictions, they may. It all depends on local laws.
This guy may have had the kind of attitude that gets some boxers killed in the ring. Most boxers know when they have had enough, and getting up from the mat will get them killed from one too many punches. But some of them are hard-wired to never give up - the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So they get up again for the nth time before the referee finishes the count and end up in the morgue. All most suspects have to do to avoid being roughly handled during an arrest is to comply. Some people will not stop trying to punch, kick or elbow the cops until they're beaten unconscious. This guy may have fought a little too long.