Video Shows Houston Police Beating Black Teen: Unarmed, Not Resisting Arrest

From [HERE]  

[see video HERE] Houston police officers beat, kick and stomp on a teen burglary suspect last year in a surveillance video that was released publicly Wednesday night.

The footage, which aired on KTRK-TV (Channel 13), shows Chad Holley, then 15, running away from police before he is clipped by a Houston Police Department cruiser as it hits a chain-link fence. The boy then falls to the ground, rolls on the grass, flips onto his stomach and clamps his hands behind his head. Within seconds, a half- dozen officers appear to attack him forcefully with their fists and feet. After another series of blows, a handcuffed Holley appears to lift himself up as he is led to lean over the back of a police car. The teen, then a sophomore at Elsik High School, was ultimately booked on a burglary charge.

The video was recorded by a surveillance camera around 4 p.m. on March 24, 2010, at Uncle Bob's Self-Storage at 8450 Cook near Beechnut. The footage offers more than one viewing angle and was forwarded to HPD and the district attorney by the business within a week of the incident.

Since then, Holley, his relatives and activist Quanell X have called the event an example of police brutality and excessive force.

Some officers fired

Eight officers were suspended without pay while HPD's Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney's Office conducted separate investigations.

In June, four HPD officers were indicted on misdemeanor official suppression charges and fired: Andrew Blomberg, Phil Bryan, Raad Hassan and Drew Ryser. Bryan and Hassan also were charged with violation of the civil rights of a prisoner, also a misdemeanor.

Three other officers were fired without being charged: Sgt. John McClellan, Gaudencio Saucedo and Lewis Childress. Five additional officers received two-day suspensions: R.E. Abel III, K.W. Cockrill, M.J. Novak, R.J. Oppermann and I.M. Vaughn.

Holley has since been convicted of burglary by a Harris County jury in connection with the incident.

The airing comes months after local news organizations asked a federal judge to release the tape and the same day the teen's civil lawyer, Benjamin Hall, attempted to stop the footage from being "leaked" to the public.

In August, the Chronicle and four local television stations asked U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. to allow them to intervene in the federal case pending against two officers.

The media outlets opposed a protective order for the tape sought by Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos and Blomberg's lawyers to keep Hall from giving the tape to journalists and prevent news organizations from airing the footage if obtained.

The news outlets argued that preventing journalists from airing the tape is a violation of the First Amendment, but Werlein ruled that the footage should not be released because the pretrial publication would likely prevent the HPD officers from receiving a fair trial.

Hall said he tried to get an injunction Wednesday evening to prevent the footage from being made public.

"I would have preferred this not have happened in light of the federal court's order," said Hall, who is representing the teen in a federal civil rights lawsuit against two officers accused of beating Holley. "We did get a temporary restraining order, but it was too late. It was after it had already been released."

'Public has a right'

Hall also represents Quanell X in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Waleed Hassan, another of the HPD officers involved in the beating case.

Late Wednesday, Quanell acknowledged that he released the tape and was notified later by Hall that he may be subject to a court order forbidding the release. The activist received a copy Wednesday in connection with a defamation lawsuit filed against him.

During a conference call with Hall and Werlein, Quanell said he was "legally notified" that he could not release the tape to anyone else.

"The public has a right to see it. They should," said Quanell.

The activist said he planned to release the video to all Houston media outlets, but city attorneys, prosecutors and judges were working together to keep the tape from the public view.

Hall couldn't say what impact the security tape's release might have on the federal civil rights case.

Chief reacts

Houston police Chief Charles McClelland said he does not anticipate a backlash against his officers, noting that he and Lykos took prompt action when details of the incident became known.

"The people of this city are law-abiding, and the chief of police has taken all the actions he could take, and the citizens are willing to wait and let the process play out in court,“ McClelland said.

McClelland suspended eight officers within three days of receiving an unsolicited surveillance tape in the mail.

The tape's arrival prompted the police and prosecutors to launch an investigation that led to the firing of seven officers and criminal charges against four of them.

"I think because of what I did, and the way I explained it to the public, and the actions I took, I think people understand we took swift action when it came to our attention,“ McClelland said. "When the investigation was concluded, I took swift and strong disciplinary action.“

Holley was convicted of burglary in October by a Harris County jury after a two-day trial in which the tape was not shown. He was sentenced to probation until his 18th birthday.

Chronicle reporters James Pinkerton and Mike Glenn contributed to this report.