It's national news now, so I figure most have heard about the videotaped altercation that occured in Inglewood the other day where police allegedly used excessive force, specifically dragging a 16 year old male by his neck chain, slamming him against the back of the police cruiser and then punching the handcuffed youth in the face.
The kid was riding with his father who had stopped to get gas. The dad had expired tags and was driving on a suspended license. Police initially focused on the father, but turned their attention to the boy after he allegedly assaulted an officer. Apparently the teenager involved is mildly retarded, and has a hearing and speech impediment. The kid had no priors, and had just come out of the station after buying a bag of chips.
I'm pro cop, and I didn't see what precipitated this incident, but I've gotta say that once a perp is in custody and handcuffed, slamming his face onto the trunk of the car and then punching him in the face is way over the top. On the video you can see that another officer actually held Morse's arm back, restraining him from taking a second punch at the kid. Not good. Not good at all.
The kid was riding with his father who had stopped to get gas. The dad had expired tags and was driving on a suspended license. Police initially focused on the father, but turned their attention to the boy after he allegedly assaulted an officer. Apparently the teenager involved is mildly retarded, and has a hearing and speech impediment. The kid had no priors, and had just come out of the station after buying a bag of chips.
I'm pro cop, and I didn't see what precipitated this incident, but I've gotta say that once a perp is in custody and handcuffed, slamming his face onto the trunk of the car and then punching him in the face is way over the top. On the video you can see that another officer actually held Morse's arm back, restraining him from taking a second punch at the kid. Not good. Not good at all.