Alabama police officers fired over car chase beating

Honest prosecutors!

Five Alabama police officers have been sacked after a video emerged showing them brutally beating an unconscious man. The officers were pursuing a black suspect in a high-speed chase through Jefferson County when the man lost control of his van and fell out of the vehicle as it flipped over.

The driver, Anthony Warren, lay motionless on the verge at the side of the road as the officers leapt on top of him kicking, punching and beating him with a baton.

Mr Warren has filed a compensation claim for more than $100,000, saying the beating left him with injuries including severe concussion and a skull fracture.

The assault took place in January last year but the video only came to light this week. Prosecutors for the district attorney of Jefferson County, Brandon Falls, found the tape in March while preparing their case against Mr Warren, who received a 20-year sentence for first-degree assault for hitting an officer with his van in the chase.

The state Bureau of Investigation is considering charges against the experienced officers and Chief A. C. Roper of the Birmingham Police Department called the actions “shameful". “We’ve terminated over 50 years of combined service due to 10 seconds of injustice,” he said. “In addition to these terminations, we’re also reviewing our supervisor’s actions, reporting mechanisms and policies.”

Original report here. Video at source



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