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Posted on 01/31/2006 9:44:40 AM PST by Abathar
ST. LOUIS -- Black activists on Tuesday called for the firing of police officers who were shown on live television swinging night sticks and punching and kicking a suspect after a car chase.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol was investigating to see if the four officers involved had acted illegally.
The suspect, Edmon Burns, 33, of St. Louis County, was treated at a hospital and released, and was jailed. No charges had been filed. His attorney did not return calls Tuesday.
Burns and one of the four officers, from St. Louis, are black, The three other officers, from suburban Maplewood, are white.
The chase began Monday in Maplewood, where officers said they noticed a man in a van acting suspiciously. It ended in St. Louis.
Much of the chase was shown on live television shot from a WTVI-TV helicopter, along with the officers apparently beating the man for several seconds. What could not be clearly seen on the video was how much the suspect was resisting.
Names of the officers were not released.
Zaki Baruti of the St. Louis-based Coalition Against Police Crimes said the officers clearly stepped over the line in subduing Burns.
"They tried to become the judge, jury and executioner on the spot," Baruti said. "Those officers need to be disciplined, need to be fired, and charged with assault."
Baruti and the Rev. B.T. Rice of the NAACP questioned the need for a chase. Video showed the chase passing school buses and other vehicles.
Maplewood Police Chief James White cautioned against jumping to conclusions.
"The question is, is the force appropriate for the situation?" White said at a news conference. "Is it appropriate for the resistance? I don't know any of that."
Burns has a long criminal record, White said. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported he tried to run from police in 2003 after being stopped for speeding in north St. Louis County. After that stop, he was arrested for felony criminal nonsupport of his daughter.
The newspaper also cited court records showing Burns has been the subject of adult abuse orders for, among other things, allegedly threatening to kill a girlfriend.
Several seconds? Not very long to subdue somebody in the throes of a meth rage.
Zaki Baruti needs to be put in a ride along with the PD and see how much fun it is trying to arrest people that do not want to be arrested.
As_hole.
That would be KTVI. We in St. Louis are WEST of the Mississippi.
Wasn't much of a beating if he was treated and released.
From what I saw on the video, he did not look to be resisting arrest. It did look like they were beating him. Please know this is just my opinion of what I observed on what could be seen on the tape.
It looked the same to me, especially the one just standing there stomping on the guys leg.
I read a book called "Blink" which suggested that people in a heightened state of excitement are somewhat incapable of appropriate thought before action, and that police chases show this -- the police jump out of the cars on an adrenaline high, and simply see what they expect to see, rather than what is really happening.
It is hard to argue that in a few cases, it looks to be true. He has a whole chapter on the shooting in New York of an unarmed man trying to get into his apartment.
A lot of the book discusses why first thoughts are often more accurate than completely reasoned thoughts, overall I thougt it was a fascinating book and would highly recommend it.
He has an interesting section where he discusses how you can be trained to control your actions in the face of otherwise distracting input, involving a test with attack dogs. Also a clever start where highly trained art experts recommend the purchase of an obvious fake.
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Yeah, probably only needed a few stitches, the loose teeth will either fall out or firm back up, the bruises will fade on their own, and who cares if he pisses blood for a couple of days
Can't do the time, don't do the crime...
The criminal will always provide good reason to be kind to the police, and keep guns in the house.
I am very sorry he may have gotten tuned up, but resisting arrest isnot ever an answer when yuo have to court remedy. If he was falsely arrested he can sue and win. Running and resisting is never an alternative and you do so at your own peril.
I am getting tired of the boo hoo contengent that accuse the police of being too harsh. Quit breaking the law and you won't deal with police.
I can't run the video to check, but I think I saw this on FNC. Helicopter was above when one cop grabbed the guy. He was on the ground, but fighting. There were 4 cops total? I think. One ran up and started hitting the guy with his baton. The helicopter shot showed that the suspect was fighting being cuffed while the cop hit him. But one of the cops seemed to suddenly be aware of the helicopter and I think he said something to the other cops to back off, because the one with the baton immediately stopped hitting the suspect. He walked off aways, obviously very angry at the suspect.
So, You think that a beating should be part of the normal arrest process?
I agree. I saw the video and thought that there might be a problem out of it, but feel the police didn't go too far. If you run from the cops, this might be what happens to you. I don't feel one iota for this (ahem) person.
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