There's nothing going on here, everybody move along!
Posted on 10/09/2005 12:13:05 PM PDT by pitinkie
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - At least one police officer repeatedly punched a 64-year-old man accused of public intoxication, and another officer assaulted an Associated Press Television News producer as a cameraman taped the confrontations.
There will be a criminal investigation, and three New Orleans Police Department officers will be suspended Sunday, arrested and charged with simple battery, Capt. Marlon Defillo said.
"We have great concern with what we saw this morning," Defillo said after he and about a dozen other high-ranking police department officials watched the APTN footage Sunday. "It's a troubling tape, no doubt about it. ... This department will take immediate action."
The assaults come as the department, long plagued by allegations of brutality and corruption, struggles with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the resignation last month of Police Superintendent Eddie Compass.
The APTN tape shows an officer hitting the man at least four times in the head Saturday night as he stood outside a bar. The suspect, Robert Davis, appeared to resist, twisting and flailing as he was dragged to the ground by four officers. Another officer then kneed Davis and punched him twice. Davis was face-down on the sidewalk with blood streaming down his arm and into the gutter.
Meanwhile, an officer ordered APTN producer Rich Matthews and the cameraman to stop recording. When Matthews held up his credentials and explained he was working, the officer grabbed the producer, leaned him backward over a car, jabbed him in the stomach and unleashed a profanity-laced tirade.
"I've been here for six weeks trying to keep ... alive. ... Go home!" shouted the officer, who later identified himself as S.M. Smith.
Police said Davis, 64, of New Orleans, was booked on public intoxication, resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and public intimidation.
Davis, who is black, was subdued at the intersection of Conti and Bourbon streets. Three of the officers appeared to be white, and the other was light skinned. Defillo said race was not an issue.
Three of the five officers involved were New Orleans officers, and two others appeared to be federal officers. Numerous agencies have sent police to help with patrols in the aftermath of Katrina.
Under normal circumstances, it takes unusually offensive behavior to trigger an arrest on Bourbon Street. But New Orleans police have been working under stressful conditions since the hurricane.
Officers slept in their cars and worked 24-hour shifts after the storm. Three-quarters lost their homes and their families are scattered across the country.
Many officers deserted their posts in the days after Katrina, and some were accused of joining in the looting that broke out. At least two committed suicide.
Conditions have improved - officers now have beds on a cruise ship - but they don't have private rooms and are still working five, 12-hour days.
Compass, the police superintendent, resigned Sept. 27. Despite more than 10 years of reform efforts dating to before he took office, police were dogged by allegations of brutality and corruption.
On Friday, state authorities said they were investigating allegations that New Orleans police broke into a dealership and made off with nearly 200 cars - including 41 new Cadillacs - as the storm closed in.
There's nothing going on here, everybody move along!
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Nagin's Goon Squad. The New Orleans SS.
God, what a hellhole of corruption.
Gosh I love South Park!
I wonder if we'll get to see that on "Cops" along with the 200 stolen cars?
Davis, who is black, was subdued at the intersection of Conti and Bourbon streets. Three of the officers appeared to be white, and the other was light skinned. Defillo said race was not an issue.
Well that won't last long. How could anyone miss the fact that this is Bush's fault? And he doesn't care about black people.
Drunk, disorderly, resisting arrest, etc. Followed by a beat down. What's the problem?
Are they getting in trouble because the guy is black? Because they punched him in the head? Because he's 64? All of the above?
We're turning into a bunch of Frenchy's. Sheesh.
My fav is Cartman as the cop on the bike
LOL...
I might be able to right the perp off as, "He had it coming," but I get really bothered when LEO tells people to stop video taping. Usually when that happens, LEO is doing something they are not supposed to be doing.
I can't imagine what authority or necessity LEO has to tell someone to stop filming.
This is SOP for the NO cops. We saw them beating up some long-haired guy on the Canal St. Median one night many moons ago. I have no idea what the guy had done; maybe nothing, but they sure beat the snot out of him.
Yes they have a long history I know.
But, but, Nagin wants all of us to come start rebuilding N.O. with a new casino! Let's see, no utilities, running water, electricity, medical care or honest cops, but Hell yes, let's go gambling!
I nominate Nagin as a pre-death Darwin Award Winner.
Just saw the video on Fox..looks like the guy was resisting the whole time.
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