“On the surface it certainly does not look good…”
Those words, spoken by Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey in response to a television station helicopter captured police officers beating several people on film during a traffic stop.
The beating, captured by WTXF-TV came two days after a Philadelphia officer was shot and killed in the line of duty trying to apprehend a robbery suspect.
AD LOADING...
About a dozen officers are shown kicking and punching the suspects—who have since been charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment, according to court officials.
One man was allegedly struck with a baton.
“At a glance it does appear to be a bit beyond the pale,” said Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter. “Officers are not allowed to operate outside of the law.”
AD LOADING...
While Oliver acknowledged the severity of the video, he also asked the public not to jump to any conclusions.
“We are not going to prejudge the situation based on the video,” he said. “We all saw the video, but none of us was there.”
Ramsey echoed Oliver’s sentiments, saying “we don’t want to rush to judgment.”
All of the officers involved in the incident have been taken off the street and assigned to office duties.
AD LOADING...
Check out the video below…
