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Cheguevara6
10-09-2005, 10:22 PM
New Orleans Police Beating Caught on Tape

Sunday, October 09 2005 @ 12:12 PM PDT
Contributed by: Admin
Views: 89

RaceNEW ORLEANS - 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.

New Orleans Police Beating Caught on Tape

By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer

October 9, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - 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.


Police officers subdue a man on Conti Street near Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans Saturday night, Oct. 8, 2005. At least one police officer repeatedly punched the 64-year-old Robert Davis, accused of public intoxication, and another officer assaulted an Associated Press Television News producer as a cameraman taped the confrontations. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

video here:
http://www.wwltv.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=www.wwltv.com/101005beat.wmv

racer5.0stang
10-10-2005, 07:18 AM
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.

Why does their skin color matter?

Funkaloyd
10-10-2005, 07:23 AM
Apparently you've been living under a rock for the past half-millennium.

racer5.0stang
10-10-2005, 07:52 AM
Apparently you've been living under a rock for the past half-millennium.

So just because the man was black and the officers were white then it nothing more than a race issue.

Stop pulling the race card and get to the bottom of it.

Tzar
10-10-2005, 07:54 AM
i saw this on the news.
guy got fucked on by the police.

look out! rodney king v. 2!!

Funkaloyd
10-10-2005, 08:14 AM
No one "pulled the race card". The AP pointed out the skin colour of those involved because it's clearly relevant, even if it wasn't the cause of the assault.

Tell me that Rodney King isn't one of the first things that comes to your mind when your hear "Police beating caught on tape".

sam i am
10-10-2005, 09:46 AM
Really?

We're going to debate race relations YET AGAIN?

C'mon, people. We're all the same : black, white, yellow, brown. Skin color doesn't matter. Gender doesn't matter. Only the ability to employ one's brain TRULY matters.

D_Raay
10-10-2005, 12:31 PM
Really?

We're going to debate race relations YET AGAIN?

C'mon, people. We're all the same : black, white, yellow, brown. Skin color doesn't matter. Gender doesn't matter. Only the ability to employ one's brain TRULY matters.
In this context on this topic, this is downright funny. Was it meant that way?

sam i am
10-10-2005, 02:07 PM
In this context on this topic, this is downright funny. Was it meant that way?

Of course........or was it? :D

Classic Iconocl
10-10-2005, 02:52 PM
Police countered intoxication with violent assault. Now THAT'S public safety! "Protect and serve" has become "control and incarcerate, at any cost".

I believe racism may be an issue, but it obscures deeper ones.

Kudos to the department, however. They acted with determination to address the problem. That's not always the case.

Personally, I recommend that everybody carries a videocamera with them, if possible. It has saved my ass from harassment more than once. It's amazing how responsive public officials can become when they know their actions are under scrutiny.

sam i am
10-10-2005, 03:08 PM
Police countered intoxication with violent assault. Now THAT'S public safety! "Protect and serve" has become "control and incarcerate, at any cost".

I believe racism may be an issue, but it obscures deeper ones.

Kudos to the department, however. They acted with determination to address the problem. That's not always the case.

Personally, I recommend that everybody carries a videocamera with them, if possible. It has saved my ass from harassment more than once. It's amazing how responsive public officials can become when they know their actions are under scrutiny.

How sad that you feel it necessary to carry a videocamera with you. You are truly an anarchist, aren't ya? "The fascist regime, which made you a moron, a human h-bomb, who ain't no human being...."

Classic Iconocl
10-10-2005, 03:16 PM
How sad that you feel it necessary to carry a videocamera with you. You are truly an anarchist, aren't ya? "The fascist regime, which made you a moron, a human h-bomb, who ain't no human being...."

No I'm not an anarchist by any means (though I love the Sex Pistols). If I were, I sure wouldn't be carrying a camera to catch my crimes on tape. However, I have seen citizens have their constitutional rights violated. I have witnessed harassment and assault by police and other officials. Believe it or not, there were times when a camera made all the difference.

That said, some of my closest friends are cops. But the renegade cops are terrible, nothing more than criminals with badges.

It isn't about rebellion. A camera can actually protect you from being a victim of crime.

YoungRemy
10-10-2005, 05:08 PM
they beat that poor old man to a bloody pulp...

Justice Department is now investigating...

there is absolutely no excuse, the NOPD needs an overhaul...

black,white,drunk,sober, NO EXCUSE

D_Raay
10-10-2005, 10:58 PM
How sad that you feel it necessary to carry a videocamera with you. You are truly an anarchist, aren't ya? "The fascist regime, which made you a moron, a human h-bomb, who ain't no human being...."
Again, I have to ask, humor?

valvano
10-12-2005, 11:06 AM
i dont understand it. New Orleans has a Democrat Mayor, a black police chief, and a Democrat female Gov and Senator. I thought only things like this happened when neocon white males ran things????

:confused:

so when is the NAACP going to demand that the mayor of NO step down for letting this go on under his watch? where's jesse jackson loading up the buses for trips to NO???


:D

D_Raay
10-12-2005, 11:40 AM
i dont understand it. New Orleans has a Democrat Mayor, a black police chief, and a Democrat female Gov and Senator. I thought only things like this happened when neocon white males ran things????

:confused:

so when is the NAACP going to demand that the mayor of NO step down for letting this go on under his watch? where's jesse jackson loading up the buses for trips to NO???


:D
They were white cops...

valvano
10-12-2005, 11:42 AM
They were white cops...

under the control of black superiors and black politicians.....

sam i am
10-12-2005, 12:58 PM
Again, I have to ask, humor?

Maybe a little. Carrying a videocamera qith you everywhere just seems a bit paranoid to me.

Just saying.....

And, the quote was from the Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen," BTW.

wanton wench
10-12-2005, 02:10 PM
We're all the same : black, white, yellow, brown. Skin color doesn't matter. Gender doesn't matter. Only the ability to employ one's brain TRULY matters.
it would be nice if everyone in the world thought this way! :)

STANKY808
10-12-2005, 02:36 PM
i dont understand it. New Orleans has a Democrat Mayor, a black police chief, and a Democrat female Gov and Senator. I thought only things like this happened when neocon white males ran things????



Sounds like someone's been listening to Limbaugh...

"We haven't seen anybody getting outraged outside of New Orleans about this. Maybe it's not a Rodney King moment because it's in a Democrat-run town and state. And I think probably people end up saying we should understand the rage of the New Orleans police."

From 10 Oct. 2005 broadcast.

valvano
10-12-2005, 03:16 PM
kind of hard to listen to that idiot when i am in my office noon till 3 and when i am out during lunch listen to xm



:)

Classic Iconocl
10-12-2005, 04:21 PM
Maybe a little. Carrying a videocamera qith you everywhere just seems a bit paranoid to me.

Just saying.....

And, the quote was from the Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen," BTW.

It may be a bit paranoid. A tape can make all the difference, however. Just look at this year's case where four Tennessee Sheriff's deputies pled guilty to federal torture charge, after an audio tape of the torture was produced.