Maryland Police Brutality Investigation: Beating VIDEO Prompts Inquiry

The Maryland men's basketball team beat Duke in a late-season matchup in March, just a month before the Blue Devils won the NCAA championship. Following the big victory, Terps fans rioted throughout College Park, and 28 people were arrested.

More than a month later, prosecutors in Prince George's County are investigating three police officers who were caught on tape beating a student with batons after the game. One of the officers allegedly filed paperwork that appears to be at odds with video recorded that night.

According to the Washington Post, only one of the three officers in the footage has been identified. He has been suspended, and the county police chief said the other two officials will receive the same treatment once they have been identified. Scroll down to see the video.

WATCH:

Comments

[Flying Dutchman]

06:51 AM on 04/15/2010

Incompetence and poor, very poor training.

[Godzilla1916]

07:17 PM on 04/14/2010

Typical over reaction by testosterone driven cops.

Pigs suck!

[Noter]

03:57 PM on 04/14/2010

In the longer clip, it's hard to see, but it looks possible the young man reached out and touched the horse. The police obviously overreacted, even if that were the case.

[Rober]

04:34 AM on 04/15/2010

He did put his arm up as he backed away from the charging horse. It's difficult to tell if there was actual contact but the mounted policeman initiate the charge on a stationary person and the man immediately started backing up.

Well he tried to back up until another officer felt it necessary to execute a flying tackle that pushed the man into a wall and brought him to the ground.

I have to say that having watched the video many times from the time the man came around the corner my conclusion is that had the man not been tackled he would have continued to back up as the police advanced. I don't know why the police overreacted the way they did but it was certainly unprofessional and likely criminal.

[spagma]

02:26 PM on 04/14/2010

Its all speculation. You have no idea what happened before this video, and no way to know what the guy said. Its easy to villify the cops in this video, but really, what if the guy danced his way up to the cops and threatened them, told them he had a gun. He might have just been trying to look all big and bad in front of his buddies.

The point is, you can't tell either way.

But what you can tell is that something set them off for 3 of them to rush him all at the same time.

[Rober]

04:40 AM on 04/15/2010

I guess you haven't bothered to watch the videos.

Unless the police had a previous altercation that night with the person the assaulted there are no extenuating circumstances. There was no weapon. The man was backing away from the police line when he was tackled.

I watched the video several times. I can tell. Everyone can tell. The officers involved were unprofessional and in my opinion at least two of them crossed the line into criminal actions.

Certainly the subsequent paperwork is at odds with the visual record. That, to me, shows intent to cover up one's actions. And, as the police are so prone to ask, why would the innocent try to hide the facts?

[spagma]

08:13 AM on 04/15/2010

Like I said, all speculation. You are even speculating in your response. You don't know what was said, you dont know what if anything went on before, you only see the beating, with little context.

I am not saying the officers are guilt free, but I also highly doubt they would just randomly choose someone to beat down all at the same time, something set them off, right or not.

[TheMuckraker]

11:55 AM on 04/14/2010

The video posted with this story is INCOMPLETE,
it does not show how innocent the victim really is.

The guy did NOTHING threatening before he was ASSAULTED!

Watch the whole video HERE:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/university-of-maryland-student-claims-unprovoked-attack-by-police-041210

[dinglebe]

10:46 AM on 04/14/2010

Cops. Steroid. Really bad combination. Really bad outcomes. And the problem is rampant.

[ltheghost]

09:57 AM on 04/14/2010

Racism is just fear. The police here were afraid that dancing black man poised a threat. So they hit him for celebrating the win. A black man happy in this country is threatening to racist. Who are upset because of other issues in their lives that they can't fix...sad...The officers who did this should be in jail...and in general population... ;)

[topkatnc]

07:42 AM on 04/14/2010

These cops don't need to be suspended they need to be arrested....why haven't they been ?...COPS are terrorist and should be treated as such....

[glockman]

09:16 AM on 04/14/2010

You know, the just the other day, I was asking my partner when we were going to start planting IED's under soccer moms vans again. He chuckled and replied that the good ole days are long gone.

I sighed. You're right, I told him. Oh, how I miss plotting mass death and destruction...

[topkatnc]

10:31 AM on 04/14/2010

Yeah...I stand corrected...I was in a bad mood.....and also where I live law enforcement go after people like it is a sport and for personal reasons...but I should not have said terrorist...wrong word...

[AndyWright68]

12:13 AM on 04/14/2010

This is typical of police today. The only thing that changed after Rodney King and the LA riots is cops don't discriminate. They abuse every race and gender from ages 8 to 80.

Cops are completely out of control across the country. It's not just a few bad apples, cops do not risk their lives everyday and their job does not include protecting any of us.. Watch what cops are really like. http://www.youtube.com/user/CopsOutofControl?feature=mhw4

[MAJK]

02:30 AM on 04/14/2010

Exactly. More street camera like they have in Europe helps crack down on this type of brutality. When police know they are being taped.. they tend to act responsibly.

[AndyWright68]

08:08 AM on 04/14/2010

As long as the cameras are privately owned it's not a problem. However, it's the cell cameras that should make a difference soon.

[MrGman]

08:43 PM on 04/13/2010

Move along folks nothing to see here. Cops have been doing this since Cops were invented and they will always do so ya just see more of it because of video. Move along now.

[plzchuteme]

08:07 AM on 04/14/2010

Uh, okay! I'm glad you cleared that up for me. I guess everything is all right, then.

[sheoples]

08:13 PM on 04/13/2010

""who controls the cops?"

Depends on the local political structure. Here it is a citizen review board, and a city manager and city council, ultimately."


just like potus is "suposed" to be commander in chief when in fact it's the military that controls the military and potus is only figure head in name only.........

if military was TRULLY controlled by potus........why is it that the military would NOT obey his orders to abolish dadt if he decreed it?

military and police have a mind of their own...........public has only a vague tenuous input as to what they do..........in the end military and police are pretty much fiefdom unto themselves.

[glockman]

09:19 AM on 04/14/2010

"..why is it that the military would NOT obey his orders to abolish dadt if he decreed it?"

Maybe because it hasn't been decreed yet?

And if we really didn't have administrative control, and acted on out own, don't you think we would have simply taken over the country by now? I mean, without any oversight, there would no repercussions if we simply wanted to get rid of everyone and run the place ourselves.

At least according to you (il)logic.

[sheoples]

07:37 PM on 04/13/2010

law enforcement = serving and protecting the rich/powerful properties and valuables from the working poor.

anything else is just free for all

[sheoples]

07:35 PM on 04/13/2010

why we keep empowering the cops and turning them into paramiltiary organizations is beyond me.

they got the guns/"law" on their side..........public doesn't have squat ......... our civil rights are in danger

[glockman]

07:56 PM on 04/13/2010

"why we keep empowering the cops and turning them into paramiltiary organizations is beyond me."

Probably because the majority of society is more rational than you.

[sheoples]

08:06 PM on 04/13/2010

if you say so officer..........

[AndyWright68]

12:16 AM on 04/14/2010

It's because the majority of society has been conditioned to bow down to these abusive criminals with badges.

[AndyWright68]

12:15 AM on 04/14/2010

Exactly!

[sheoples]

07:32 PM on 04/13/2010

never question cops

never talk back

never eye ball them

never crack a smile

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS stroke their ego.

[sheoples]

07:30 PM on 04/13/2010

this is just another way sheoples are hurting themselves.......

using tax money to pay for cops to beat us up .........with no control