"Fifteen Philadelphia police officers have been taken off the street as authorities investigate a video showing the suspects being kicked and beaten by city police," WTXF-TV, the Fox station in Philadelphia, reported on Wednesday.
"Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter, says the mayor stands behind the police department, but that 'at a glance it does appear to be beyond the pale.'
"'We are not going to prejudge the situation based on the video,' he said. 'We all saw the video, but none of us was there.'
"The beating happened two days after the fatal shooting of a Philadelphia policeman, the third city officer slain on duty in two years.
"Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says he's disappointed in the actions of the police officers involved in a videotaped beating of three suspects.
"Appearing on 'Good Day Philadelphia,' Ramsey watched the tape again and said it speaks for itself.
"'When they first got him out of the car [it was being handled well]," said Ramsey. 'But once they're down . . . that level of force is only necessary to affect an arrest. I'm disappointed in what I'm looking at.'
"The commissioner says he spoke with his command staff immediately after seeing the tape on television. He encouraged them to give relief to officers who may be stressed out or tired.
"Only Fox 29 cameras caught a violent confrontation Monday night between police and three men who fled a shooting that has triggered a firestorm of controversy. The scene played out in the Hunting Park section of Philadelphia shortly after a triple shooting at the intersection of Second and Cayuga.
"On Tuesday, Fox 29 received a warrant for the videotape of the beating from the Internal Affairs division of the police department, and we complied with that request."
By Richard Prince's Journal-isms
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