Houston police got caught beating down 16-year-old robbery suspect Chad Holley last March, and now a Houston television station is letting the world see just how bad the beating was.
A fleeing Holley is shown running from officers and then falling, after being clipped by a Houston police car.
While lying face down, officers are shown surrounding Holley. After a few seconds, things get interesting with one officer delivering several kicks to Holly's head and another punching him in the side. After a few moments, the same officer is shown stomping on the back of Holley's legs.
After the beating, the teen is led off to a waiting police cruiser.
Too bad no audio is provided with the video, because it might've helped explain why the cops took such a violent tact in subduing Holley.
If Holley was mouthing off and otherwise making himself a pain in the neck when the handcuffs were being put on, I, and the public, could at least understand a little better why the situation spun out of control.
And it's true that Holley wouldn't have gotten beaten up in the first place if he and his three friends hadn't been robbing a local home.
But let's be clear: Nothing Holley might have said or done after he was surrounded could justify the cops' reaction. The polices' actions were egregiously unprofessional, and the Houston police department should be ashamed by this incident.
Thankfully, the system actually seemed to work in the case of Chad Holley's beating: the four officers shown punching and kicking Holley were indicted on misdemeanor charges and fired; three other officers were fired without being charged and the remaining officers received suspensions, according to the Houston Chronicle.
In addition, the city powers tried to block the release of the video to the public, but they failed.
And now, with this video evidence, police in Houston and around the country can see how too many police officers hand out justice in poor communties.
26-Jan-11 - You would presume that with all of their citations of the Constitution and remembrance of the founding fathers, Tea Party candidates would understand history at least a little bit. But that's apparently not the case with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) who said that the founding fathers ended slavery in the United States.
26-Jan-11 - You would presume that with all of their citations of the Constitution and remembrance of the founding fathers, Tea Party candidates would understand history at least a little bit. But that's apparently not the case with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) who said that the founding fathers ended slavery in the United States.
25-Jan-11 - Actor and former gangsta rapper Ice-T may want to maintain some "Law & Order" in his household. The celeb's teenage son Tracy "Little Ice" Marrow Jr. was arrested during the wee hours Monday morning outside a Van Nuys, Calif., strip club and charged with public indecency.
21-Jan-11 - The black community in Greenwood, Miss., is on edge and angry after the death of Frederick Jermaine Carter who was 26 years old and found hanging from a tree in what authorities have labeled to be a suicide.
20-Jan-11 - In an interview with CNS News on Thursday, senator Rick Santorum voiced his absolute disbelief that Obama would dare support a woman's right to choose abortion ... considering he's a black man.
