RAW VIDEO: Officers Beat Suspect & Police Camera Pans Away

It's funny how even the cop controlling the camera can tell that once the cop socks the guy standing there on the phone, that it's wrong and he needs to zoom out.

Struggling with the other guy on the ground was fine, as he was sorta resisting, but the guy on the phone was just standing there.

If he was guilty of something, he surely was not resisting arrest and should not have been treated with that amount of force.

This bothers me because whenever I see corrupt police action such as this, the other police officers not actually doing the beating still seem to all agree to follow a code to protect each other first before protecting the citizens they swore to protect.

It seems like if a cop decided to just randomly beat the # out of me, no other cop would come to my aid, instead, they'd just try to hide the evidence for the cop who was doing the beating.

That's scary and it makes me wonder whether or not I really should just be angry at the cop committing the brutality or at the other cops who stand with him as he does so.

This happens everywhere though.

In many professions and organizations.

Like say, if a Mod at ATS got caught with his foot in his mouth, what's to stop another mod that's his friend who mod's that category to make it look like it never happened?

Who are they gonna believe, the non mod or the two mods?

I think it's human nature to abuse power when they acquire it.

Just look at the Stanford Prison Experiment

That is crazy that the camera would turn away like that. I have to wonder if the controller thought that would erase what it just saw somehow? What else do you know about this? Where was it and what was going on ?

Its very sad indeed. But they need to practice for the upcoming martial law, good bye Americans. enjoy you're last months of freedom...

(it doesnt look like anyone there minds, the police do the dirty work and the people just watch. its none of their business)

reply to post by Jeanius


Civilian Oversight boards with the authority to fire and bring criminal charges against police is the only way to protect civilians.

Since apparently when cops commit crimes everyone just refuses to press charges against them.

Police will argue that "civilian oversight boards" don't understand blah blah blah.

Too bad, if you don't want to be a police force by consent of the people then you should not be a police force.

reply to post by Jeanius


The cop running the camera either got curious or thought "surely they;ve stopped beating the crap outta him by now".

I smell a lawsuit.

reply to post by Jeanius


Note the pool of blood on the ground when the officers lift him off the ground at 1:26. That blood is beneath where his face was.

reply to post by Lessinterested

That is crazy that the camera would turn away like that. I have to wonder if the controller thought that would erase what it just saw somehow? What else do you know about this? Where was it and what was going on ?

Apparently the Denver Police Department claims that the camera was "on a preset" and that it panned away as part of its automation. But he also states that an operator was managing that camera. If you compare the sequences from 0 - 0:35 and 1:03 - 1:17 you'll see that they're not folowing the same sequences. And the first clip in particular is clearly following the action.

It would be bad design for automated camera control to activate while a camera is being actively controlled by an operator. Even if you want to assert that the camera system is badly designed, and that it panned away as part of its routine...it seems implausible to me that it would take an operator who is actively controlling that camera in real time fully thirty seconds to swing it back into place.

And since apparently officer Sparks lied on his police report and the department paid $17,500 to settle the lawsuit, it doesn't seem unlikely to me that the department was also lying about the camera automation.

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The question of whether merely to fire him is silly. He should be charged with aggravated assault and perjury. I would be curious to hear whether any police officers here on ATS disagree with that.

This is nothing new. You guys remember the video of the student who was attacked in front of a bunch of mounted officers after a game of some sort? They beat him up bad and arrest him accusing him of attacking the mounted officers. Then an amateur video shows up where he isn't even close to them and he gets jumped by bunch of cops. Now the relative part to this case is that there was even clearler surveillance video of that. First the cops said that it was somehow mysteriously erased. After a while the tape surfaced but the only part that was erased was the attack. Tape was ok before and after it took place. Then it turns out the officer whose responsibility the tape was was married to one of the mounted officers. Not so thin that blue line

Look at what the cop is doing to the actual suspect who's already on the ground.

He's bouncing and rolling his weight up and down through his baton on the lower leg of the already-down-and-limp, handcuffed suspect.
You don't do that to restrain someone, you do that to inflict pain, and obviously the person wasn't fighting back.

Then he gets up and attacks the other guy, beating him until and while he's limp as well...


[edit on 16-8-2010 by alaskan]

That kid needs to get the lawyer with the gold jet to sue the crap out of the city.

A multi million dollar settlement is the only way that things will change.
When the cost of doing business as usual is too high change will come.

That wont change anything. The cops themselves wont have to pay a dime. This has happened many times and many times there has been lawsuits. This problem goes far deeper and money alone will never fix it.

Poor guy.


I hope he sued them!