Philadelphia Police Officers Suspended After Brutal Taped Beating of Unarmed Black Men - What will Black Mayor Do About it?

 
See Video [HERE]
 Seven more police officers were taken off street duty Thursday as investigators look into the videotaped police beating of three shooting suspects during a traffic stop. Thirteen of the estimated 15 officers on hand during the Monday incident have been taken off the streets as investigators pore over the television news footage, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told a news conference Thursday. The officers were videotaped beating three unarmed African American men. A local television news helicopter captured the scene of around a dozen officers pulling the victims from their car and kicking and punching them as they lay on the ground. The beating occurred after the shooting death of a police officer who had been pursuing three robbery suspects, two of whom were later caught. The three victims have all been charged with assault, conspiracy and endangering another person. The officers who beat them have not been charged.

The commissioner pledged to send the department's preliminary investigation to prosecutors by next week. If prosecutors decline to file charges, he will deal with the officers involved internally, he said. The Internal Affairs unit is still working to enhance the tape and identify all of the officers in the footage, a department spokesman said. [MORE] and [MORE]

Black Mayor & Black Police Chief say Race was not a Factor
"There's no excuse for that type of behavior, and we certainly want to take action," Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. Mayor Michael Nutter said he was "tremendously disappointed" by the officers' behavior and vowed to deal with the matter. "The conduct was unacceptable," he said. "It did not live up to the professional standards we have set for the police department."  He added that the incident has "virtually nothing to do with race; it has to do with crime." "This is about proper police conduct, regardless of the race or ethnicity of the individuals involved," Nutter said. "We are not satisfied with the activity; it does not matter what the race of any particular defendant is." [MORE]