Police beating caught on tape

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New Orleans police beating caught on tape

By MARY FOSTER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

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.
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=New%20Orleans%20Taped%20Beating

Not only do they beat up an old man, they have the stupidity to attack a man who's holding a camera and states he works for associated press tv.
 
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.
Click to expand...

I think that's all that need be said.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']I think that's all that need be said.[/QUOTE]

The?

You're excusing the police for bashing an elderly man's brains in, because they are going through what every other survivor in NO has to endure?
 
[quote name='camoor']
You're excusing the police for bashing an elderly man's brains in, because they are going through what every other survivor in NO has to endure?[/QUOTE]

So all the other survivors are working 24 hour shifts? I though most of them were still out of the city at the moment.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']I think that's all that need be said.[/QUOTE]

This happened yesterday, those conditions have been improved

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.
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Regardless, it does not justify what occured. It's like saying someone should be excused of murdering a random guy on the street because last night they found their wife in bed with another man and she said she wanted a divorce. It may explain why something took place, but does not justify it.

Though they never truly worked 24 hours shift, they still slept and ate and everything, not something you'd normally do while working. It was just, when they were awake and available, they were working.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']So all the other survivors are working 24 hour shifts? I though most of them were still out of the city at the moment.[/QUOTE]

Sorry - there is no excuse for police brutality. I don't care if the officer recently went through a bad divorce or has been working double shifts - you can't make that an allowance or excuse for beating the head of an inebriated elderly man and then making physical threats to citizens exercising their first amendment rights.
 
[quote name='camoor']Sorry - there is no excuse for police brutality. I don't care if the officer recently went through a bad divorce or has been working double shifts - you can't make that an allowance or excuse for beating the head of an inebriated elderly man and then making physical threats to citizens exercising their first amendment rights.[/QUOTE]

Well when you find these perfect police men do let me know, Imaginaria could use some to go along with their perfect citizens.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']
Though they never truly worked 24 hours shift, they still slept and ate and everything, not something you'd normally do while working. It was just, when they were awake and available, they were working.[/QUOTE]

So 18 hour shifts then?

You put people under immense stress and this is the result.

My initial point was more of a poke at your poorly chosen title designed for shock value more than anything else. This isn't another Rodney King beating and you know it.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Well when you find these perfect police men do let me know, Imaginaria could use some to go along with their perfect citizens.[/QUOTE]

So you're saying that it's normal for stressed police officers to take out their anger by beating up old men? That it's only that rare, perfect cop who avoids that urge?
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Well when you find these perfect police men do let me know, Imaginaria could use some to go along with their perfect citizens.[/QUOTE]

Great - why don't you go live in North Korea, I'm sure you'll be alot happier in a fascist paradise where the police literally get away with murder.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']So 18 hour shifts then?

You put people under immense stress and this is the result.

My initial point was more of a poke at your poorly chosen title designed for shock value more than anything else. This isn't another Rodney King beating and you know it.[/QUOTE]

You have a problem with my title, take it up with the AP and whoever I linked the story from (I couldn't copy and paste the ap's website").

But, again, they were no longer on 24 hour shifts. The assumption you're making, if it results from that, is flawed.
 
[quote name='camoor']Great - why don't you go live in North Korea, I'm sure you'll be alot happier in a fascist paradise where the police literally get away with murder.[/QUOTE]

Why don't you go live in Imaginaria? People are not perfect and shit does happen.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']You have a problem with my title, take it up with the AP and whoever I linked the story from (I couldn't copy and paste the ap's website").[/QUOTE]

Oh you mean the title of: New Orleans police beating caught on tape

Funny how you dropped the first 2 words isn't it?:roll:

You went for shock value and it's pathetic.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Oh you mean the title of: New Orleans police beating caught on tape

Funny how you dropped the first 2 words isn't it?:roll:

You went for shock value and it's pathetic.[/QUOTE]

No, I dropped it to avoid people like PAD coming in and blaming it on a democrat mayor.

It's not like it's a few days after the hurricane where everyone was crazy.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']No, I dropped it to avoid people like PAD coming in and blaming it on a democrat mayor.[/QUOTE]

Which he would do anyhow after reading the first few lines of the article.:roll:
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Why don't you go live in Imaginaria? People are not perfect and shit does happen.[/QUOTE]

You're pretty forgiving. I'll remember that when you're getting a beat-down from the police:

"Stop filming this media - zionoverfire wanted it this way - the officer is just taking out his stress on Zion's kidneys!"

I am SO SICK of this - "ohh I couldn't handle the stress - that's why I can't do my damn job" excuse that some Americans want to let everyone off the hook for.
 
[quote name='camoor']
I am SO SICK of this - "ohh I couldn't handle the stress - that's why I can't do my damn job" excuse that some Americans want to let everyone off the hook for.[/QUOTE]

And I'm even more sick of people who expect everyone to be perfect 100% of the time, this is not a typical situation and it should not be treated as one.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']And I'm even more sick of people who expect everyone to be perfect 100% of the time, this is not a typical situation and it should not be treated as one.[/QUOTE]

The behavior is nowhere near perfect. It wasn't just a little excessive.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']The behavior is nowhere near perfect. It wasn't just a little excessive.[/QUOTE]

Neither was the situation, it's just sad to see how low you stoop for shock value.
 
[quote name='camoor']Hey Zion - would you be as forgiving if this was your grandfather instead of an elderly african-american stranger?[/QUOTE]

Of course not, the entire point of my statement is that stress and trauma affect the actions of those involved. As a neutral observer my reasoning is much less clouded, it's the basic reason why an eye for an eye doesn't work, victims and their sympathizers are the worst people to dictate punishment.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Neither was the situation, it's just sad to see how low you stoop for shock value.[/QUOTE]

So, basically, you agree with me? If that's the case, you're going a bit overboard just because someone dropped "new orleans", it doesn't change what happened or how it should be viewed.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23'] it doesn't change what happened or how it should be viewed.[/QUOTE]

Actually it does. This is the result of the current state of NO, to compare this to a police beating in LA or NY is a joke. You picked your title for shock value and it's rather sad.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Actually it does. This is the result of the current state of NO, to compare this to a police beating in LA or NY is a joke. You picked your title for shock value and it's rather sad.[/QUOTE]

It's a police beating and a video of police brutality. Links to rodney king and such are links you made. I saw it as a police beating, and I believe it should be handled the same way here as it would be had it occured in new york or los angeles. What actually came into my head was the beating of students at my university last year, not rodney king, especially since the article said it did not appear to be race related.

New orleans is not in the chaos it was in immediately after the hurricane, because it happened in NO doesn't mean it should be viewed as any more acceptable than if it occured elsewhere, which is what you seem to think.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Of course not, the entire point of my statement is that stress and trauma affect the actions of those involved. As a neutral observer my reasoning is much less clouded, it's the basic reason why an eye for an eye doesn't work, victims and their sympathizers are the worst people to dictate punishment.[/QUOTE]

Well my point is that you are instantly sympathizing with an overworked police officer who used massively excessive force and endangered the life of an drunken elderly man, and then attempted to bully a law-abiding media representative with threats of physical harm.

I don't believe you are considering the point of view of the drunken elderly man, who received 4 blows to his skull. How many able-bodied police officers do you think it takes to arrest a drunken elderly man? What's next - the officer speeds off to dinner and kills a 15 year-old driver in a case of road rage, however it's ok because he was overworked and very hungry?

I wanted to bring it into focus using a hypothetical situation, not boil over your emotions. IMO the very fact that you would see-saw so wildly depending on the social status (cop or accused citizen) and relation of the victim to yourself shows your bias.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']
New orleans is not in the chaos it was in immediately after the hurricane, because it happened in NO doesn't mean it should be viewed as any more acceptable than if it occured elsewhere, which is what you seem to think.[/QUOTE]

Well then clearly you shouldn't have a problem with putting New Orleans in the title then.:roll:
 
[quote name='camoor']
I wanted to bring it into focus using a hypothetical situation, not boil over your emotions. IMO the very fact that you would see-saw so wildly depending on the social status (cop or accused citizen) and relation of the victim to yourself shows your bias.[/QUOTE]

:rofl: I love this cop or accused citizen, yeah you're really unbiased yourself there cheif.:roll:
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']I'm stubborn.[/QUOTE]

Sure, more likely you realize that admitting the location due to recent events really weakens your topic. But hey at least you didn't pull some police beating story out of Pakistan and expected us to care about that.:applause:
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Sure, more likely you realize that admitting the location due to recent events really weakens your topic. But hey at least you didn't pull some police beating story out of Pakistan and expected us to care about that.:applause:[/QUOTE]

Police brutality is police brutality, NY or NO is should be treated the same. The title says what happened. Just because you think violence is excusable in NO doesn't mean everyone else does.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']Police brutality is police brutality, NY or NO is should be treated the same. The title says what happened.[/QUOTE]

I'll remember that the next time a riot happens and they throw the tear gas and pull out the billy clubs.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']I'll remember that the next time a riot happens and they throw the tear gas and pull out the billy clubs.[/QUOTE]

Is this suggesting that I wouldn't care then? Or is it to suggest that this guy was a 1 man riot and the police were just trying to get the situation under control?

I just saw the video on tv, it looked like the man was getting punched in the back of the head while standing against the wall.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']Is this suggesting that I wouldn't care then? Or is it to suggest that this guy was a 1 man riot and the police were just trying to get the situation under control?
[/QUOTE]

Simply that your stance that police brutality is uniformly bad is silly, actions are a result of the environment in which they occur. To compare this to a similar incident anywhere else in the country right now would be a joke.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Simply that your stance that police brutality is uniformly bad is silly, actions are a result of the environment in which they occur. To compare this to a similar incident anywhere else in the country right now would be a joke.[/QUOTE]

Police brutality is, by definition, excessive force. There is no acceptable police brutality.

And I'm sure both the police and victim has had a few stressful weeks. That doesn't make violent behavior excusable. You can't just say "sorry mr victim, we'd prosecute but you gotta understand how hard it's been on the cops".
 
ZOF, What the fuck?

You can say its an abberation or whatever.

But dont get mad at people. And dont make excuses its fucking pathetic.

This is something there should be zero tolerance , once is to many times.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']Police brutality is, by definition, excessive force. There is no acceptable police brutality.
[/QUOTE]

Fine then whenever they surround a suspect's house with snipers and 20 SWAT members break down his front door police brutailty is occuring. Whenever more than the minimum number of police required to subdue a suspect are involved excessive force is being used and so that's police brutality. Those all seem to be pretty acceptable uses of excessive force, or should I say by your own definition police brutality.
 
[quote name='Msut77']
This is something there should be zero tolerance , once is to many times.[/QUOTE]

Good then I trust you're going down to NO to take their place? They could really use some perfect police officers like you right about now.
 
Is it excusable? No. Is it understandable? Yeah. My dad is a cop, and even on a normal day in a relatively small town, his buttons can be pushed to the point of exasperation. Cops have one of the hardest jobs in the world. And then you put them in a situation like what's going on in New Orleans, and of course they're going to get frazzled and possibly snap. That doesn't give them the right to do it, but can any one of you say that in the same situation you wouldn't snap at all?
 
>>Good then I trust you're going down to NO to take their place?

Yep thats exactly what im going to do.

I can take a drunken senior citizen anyday of the week.

Do I get to roll him for his wallet as well?

Is reductio ad absurdum really all you got?

Zion even Spoon gets it, Its not that it isnt understandable but that does not excuse it.
 
[quote name='Msut77']
Zion even Spoon gets it, Its not that it isnt understandable but that does not excuse it.[/QUOTE]

No really it's quite understandable and easily excusable.
 
[quote name='Msut77']>>No really it's quite understandable and easily excusable.

Congratulations, we have hooked a retard.[/QUOTE]

Yes.. apparently one that doesn't understand how to use the quote button.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Fine then whenever they surround a suspect's house with snipers and 20 SWAT members break down his front door police brutailty is occuring. Whenever more than the minimum number of police required to subdue a suspect are involved excessive force is being used and so that's police brutality. Those all seem to be pretty acceptable uses of excessive force, or should I say by your own definition police brutality.[/QUOTE]

You don't even understand the word

Police brutality is a term used to describe the excessive use of physical force, assault, and verbal attacks and threats by police officers.
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http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:police+brutality

No really it's quite understandable and easily excusable.
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Though it's completely absurd to think that beating up a guy is acceptable for police, if they're a danger to the general population, what's the point?

So I guess if you were in new orleans and got pulled over for speeding, you would think it's entirely excusable for the cop to beat you up because it's a stressful time for him/her? Give me a break.
 
[quote name='Msut77']
BTW did you watch the video?[/QUOTE]

Of course, this is the kind of stuff that happens when you put people under intense stress for a long duration of time.
 
>>this is the kind of stuff that happens when you put people under intense stress for a long duration of time.

Well that is your opinion but no, that is not a logical nor rational response to stress.

You are being asinine and wilfully stupid.
 
[quote name='Msut77']

Well that is your opinion but no, that is not a logical nor rational response to stress.

You are being asinine and wilfully stupid.[/QUOTE]

:rofl: Yes because people act rationally and logically under constant heavy stress.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']
So I guess if you were in new orleans and got pulled over for speeding, you would think it's entirely excusable for the cop to beat you up because it's a stressful time for him/her? Give me a break.[/QUOTE]

I love the mention of a situation completely unrelated to the topic at hand.
 
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