5 B'ham Officers Fired

[Five-0]

Birmingham police beating video: Five officers fired - Breaking News from The Birmingham News - al.com

The article and comments is long. The video is also avaliable on this site. Some of the news outlets locally are taking out the footage of the guy hitting an officer and breaking his leg.

There will also be a thread on the verified side for discussion.

[Donut Aficionado]

Wow, lots of emotion in that video. I cannot say what I would have done after being a live witness to that. The full video is being shown on CNN right now.

Its a shame that the same video that is hopefully gonna be used to convict the bad guy for trying to kill the Officer that he hit, is also used to convict the Officers of whatever that are charged with.

edited to add: CNN just said he ALMOST hit the Officer. They also reported that since the bad guy was knocked out after the crash, he did not know he was beaten.

[Five-0]

The video was released this week. This happened, I believe, over a year ago. The officer that was "almost hit" was treated for a broken leg.

[Caveman]

The video was released this week. This happened, I believe, over a year ago.

Did it say where the videos been hiding or what made it come out after all of that time?

[Five-0]

Did it say where the videos been hiding or what made it come out after all of that time?

I'm unsure of the delay. The guy that was running is already in prison, and did not know that he was "beaten". Per an article I found just now:

In fact, investigators say, the suspect, Anthony Warren, didn't even know he'd been beaten until the tape surfaced at his trial in March. Warren was ejected from the vehicle and knocked unconscious, and thought all of his injuries were sustained in the wreck.


Roper said there will be additional disciplinary action against supervisors who failed to report the incident to higher-ups. He has demanded the Internal Affairs Division track down every supervisor who saw the videotape, including those who have since retired. He said the department is reviewing its reporting mechanisms and policies.
Roper said the district attorney's office brought in the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to probe possible criminal charges against the officers involved in the incident.



From another article:


Authorities believe the video, taken in January 2008 after a chase by several area law enforcement agencies ended when the fleeing suspect's van flipped, has been seen by numerous Birmingham officers and as many as a half-dozen supervisors over the past year.
But top city and police officials weren't made aware of the taped beating until they were contacted by the district attorney's office three months ago.
In fact, investigators say, the suspect, Anthony Warren, didn't even know he'd been beaten until the tape surfaced in March. Warren was ejected from the vehicle and knocked unconscious, and thought all of his injuries were sustained in the wreck.





All clips taken fromhttp://www.al.com/

[CTR man]

Can you believe some of the comments on that article? WOW!!! Although I did find a bit of humor in this one.

Posted by goutboy on 05/20/09 at 10:12AM The driver was obviously an Auburn fan. They should beat him again.

I am siding with LE on this one. An officer was damned near killed while trying to deploy a spike strip to stop this idiot. Nevermind that he did it on his own when the van flipped. I'll bet he was ejected because he was not wearing a safety belt, ya think? But that is besides the point.

Everything I have learned on LE forums and common sense says that the officers have to stay at least one step ahead of the game. What if the guy was conscious? Then what? Were the officers supposed to know that the guy was unconscious in that short of time? Were the officers supposed to just sing Kumbaya and gingerly cuff the guy, tend to his wounds, put him in the ambulance, etc after one of their brothers was almost killed just a few seconds previous to the wreck?

Everything that I have ever been taught is that if you ever mess with a cop like that, then you deserve to get your ass beat. Conscious or not.

I wonder if the police chief or the mayor are pandering to the liberals. Right, chief, throw your guys under the bus instead of sticking up for them. I hope the officers leg as healed and he was able to get back to work and that the officers that were fired are able to fight this in court and win and get their jobs back, then give this chief a vote of no confidence.

Secondly, why did it take so long for the video to come to surface? Did the police chief and mayor just now get around to viewing it?

I'm unsure of the delay. The guy that was running is already in prison, and did not know that he was "beaten". Per an article I found just now:

In fact, investigators say, the suspect, Anthony Warren, didn't even know he'd been beaten until the tape surfaced at his trial in March. Warren was ejected from the vehicle and knocked unconscious, and thought all of his injuries were sustained in the wreck

.

The article and comments is long. The video is also available on this site. Some of the news outlets locally are taking out the footage of the guy hitting an officer and breaking his leg.

Typical Screwball media putting their spin on it and altering things to make it look like the mayor and police chief are justified in their actions.

[10-42Adam]

I feel bad for the Officers. After seeing a brother nearly get hit and killed by that lowlife it's only natural for extreme emotion to overcome you in a situation like that in my opinion.

[CTR man]

Birmingham police beating video: Did not show beating when first given to DA - Breaking News from The Birmingham News - al.com

Video of five Birmingham police officers beating an unconscious suspect was edited before it was turned over as evidence to the Jefferson County district attorney's office to use in the suspect's prosecution, authorities said Wednesday.

Birmingham police beating video 20 min.

And the beating likely would have gone undiscovered if an assistant district attorney had not experienced technical problems with the copy and asked for another.

The five officers were fired late Tuesday by Police Chief A.C. Roper, who said late Wednesday his agency did not tamper with the video.

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is investigating the beating, who altered the tape, in what agency that alteration occurred, and whether it was intentional. The FBI said Wednesday night it had launched a civil rights investigation of the incident.

The tape of the beating of Anthony Shannon Warren, which the Birmingham Police Department released publicly Wednesday, is drawing national attention and has spawned additional internal and criminal investigations.

The five officers' attorney, Gayle Gear, said the men believed Warren posed a threat and responded in accordance with their training.

The incident happened Jan. 23, 2008, when a police officer tried to question Warren, now 38, about possible drug activity. A 22-minute chase followed, during which Warren struck a Hoover police officer and then was thrown from his own van after he crashed.

Authorities said he was unconscious when the five officers began kicking him and beating him with a billy club and fists. The battering was captured on police video until a sixth officer turned off the lights and siren in the cruiser that held the camera, automatically shutting off the camera.

Warren was charged with attempted murder of the Hoover officer, but later pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

'10 seconds of injustice'

Roper and Mayor Larry Langford both denounced the beating on Wednesday and held a joint press conference to announce the firings.

Police and city officials didn't release the officers' names but Gear identified them as Heath Boackle, Thomas Cleveland, Barrett Dewitt, David Doran and Kenneth Prevo.

All were fired on accusations that they used unnecessary and excessive force and failed to turn in required reports. Prevo declined comment. Efforts to reach the other officers were unsuccessful.

"We've terminated over 50 years of combined service due to 10 seconds of injustice," Roper said. "We have five officers who lost their jobs and may face criminal charges, and a suspect who suffered unnecessarily."

Roper has ordered that investigators track down all supervisors in the department who were aware of the beating, even those who have retired. One supervisor already has been brought before the chief but action on his case has been delayed two weeks.

Langford said Wednesday he fully supports the Police Department and its officers, but said, "There's a fine line they cannot cross."

"Exemplary police work was done up until the last 11 seconds," Langford said. "It's that last 11 seconds that we won't tolerate."

Gear, however, said the officers acted as they had been trained.

"I stand, and the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) stands, behind each of the officers, and we do so because we know their histories, and we do so because we know how to interpret the tape," Gear said.

Discovered by accident

District Attorney Brandon Falls said Wednesday the taped beating was discovered almost accidentally when an assistant prosecutor was preparing for Warren's attempted murder trial.
Prosecutors had a copy of the video, but the footage stopped after Warren's van flipped in Hoover and he was ejected.

The prosecutor had trouble working with the copy, Falls said, and requested another from the Birmingham Police Department. It was sent to her shortly before Warren's trial, in March this year.

Roper said late Wednesday that Hoover police gave Falls' office the initial copy of the Birmingham video. He said Birmingham police gave Hoover access to the entire video but that Hoover was interested only in the portion that showed Warren injuring the Hoover officer. Hoover police might not have copied the last 10-12 seconds of the video that showed the beating, he said, because it "didn't pertain to their case."

When the prosecutor saw the beating on the Birmingham video, Falls said, she immediately notified him. He would not identify her.

"They brought it over ... She saw the tape and called me," Falls said. "We called the defense attorney and called the ABI, and gave the original over to them."

The tampering was disturbing, Falls said.

"They have a responsibility to give us everything, and we have a responsibility to give it to the defense," he said.

Roper said, "Obviously this incident revealed many issues but tampering with evidence is not one of them."

Unaware of his beating

The allegation of tampering is also an issue raised in a claim filed with the city of Birmingham on behalf of Warren, shortly after he entered his guilty plea.

The claim detailed Warren's injuries, which included a concussion and a skull fracture, but also alleges the Police Department interfered with the administration of justice and conspired to tamper with evidence.

"Also of great concern to us is the fact that .¤.¤. everything after the van flipped, the entire beating, was deleted on the tape given to the defense counsel, with clear intent to suppress," said lawyer Wendy Crew, who represents Warren. "The tampering with the evidence and the editing of the video and proffering it was clearly a conscious and deliberate act."

Crew said Warren was shot with a Taser before the high-speed chase, and contended that the chase should have never started.

Warren, who was hospitalized for five days after the incident, was unaware he had been beaten until the video came to light.

"This case isn't about Anthony Warren," Crew said. "It's about a systemic problem with training, with failing to intervene, with the culture of tolerance of this kind of behavior and about the deliberate tampering with evidence."

Roper said all aspects of the incident remain under investigation.

"One thing is for certain, the video, as incriminating as it is, was kept safe and secure by this department for over a year," he said. "When it came to our attention, we launched an internal investigation which is still continuing."

No response to order

Gear, the officers' lawyer, said they all responded according to procedure. None saw Warren ejected from the van, she said, and they approached him presuming he was dangerous and were unaware he was unconscious.

She said Dewitt saw Warren on the ground and approached, shouting: "Show me your hands!" as he was trained to do. When Warren did not comply, Dewitt struck him with a baton to make him show his hands.

Other officers followed suit.

As Doran approached, Dewitt slipped. Thinking Dewitt had been shot, Gear said, Doran hit Warren.

"In those 11 seconds we had two officers frantic to get this man to show his hands," Gear said.
Cleveland, the third man to arrive, hit Warren in the pressure points on the neck, non-lethal strikes within Birmingham policy, Gear said.

"He tries the procedures," she said. "When it doesn't work, he backs off."

Boackle struck Warren on a part of the leg intended to disable him before seeing he was unresponsive. Prevo was the last officer to hit Warren.

If supervisors thought the officers had used excessive force, they would have reprimanded them on the scene or included it in reports of the incident that went through several people before ending up on the police chief's desk, Gear said.

First disciplinary action

The officers, whose time on the force ranges from seven to 13 years each, have appealed their dismissals to the Jefferson County Personnel Board.

Two of the five officers who were fired changed positions after the January incident. Boackle was promoted to sergeant in August 2008, Gear said. Prevo moved from the narcotics unit to the burglary unit in October 2008.

This was the first time any of the officers have been called before the police chief for a disciplinary matter, Gear said. One of the officers, Doran, received a legislative medal of honor for carrying a woman to safety from a second-floor apartment during a fire, Gear said. Another, Dewitt, had been honored as a finalist for the FOP Officer of the Year Award.

She said they are devastated by the entire disciplinary process.

"These are the best examples of our fine police force that we have," Gear said.

Full 20 min chase video

[Five-0]

Good find CTR. I will say this, the attorney for these officers, Gayle Gears, is doing one hell of a job getting out in front of this for the officers. We shall see as this continues.