- Obama says Boosting US Jobs is Top Priority
- More Consumers Giving 'Black Friday' the Cold Shoulder
- Prepare For Large Decline In Stocks, Next Year?
- Hewlett-Packard Earnings Rise, Match Guidance
- HP Comes in As Expected; Is It Time to Buy?
- Cramer: What Monday’s Housing Number Really Means
- Why the Dollar Will Likely Stay Weak for Some Time
- Bear, Lehman Execs Weren't Wiped Out by Crisis: Study
- How Real Estate Investors Skew Housing's Reality
- Can Murdoch Help Bing Challenge Google and Shift the Content Equation?
- HP's Mark Hurd
- HP Comes in As Expected; Is It Time to Buy?
- 9 Stocks That Play Rising Water Costs: Strategists
- Weis' Deal Likely Won't Change Big Money Contracts
- Gold Prices Can Double in 3 Years: Portfolio Manager
- Nov. 23: Unusual Volume Leaders
- Help Wanted—Please Run $4 Billion University
- Apple Comes to AT&T's Rescue
- China planning agency OKs Shanghai Disney project
- Govt issues record 2.1M recall for dropside cribs
- Kinder Morgan expects to pay $4.40 annual dividend
- Mich. spammer gets 4 years in stock fraud scheme
- Icahn outbids Penn to open Fontainebleau auction
- Max Capital names new president of reinsurance ops
- Valspar fiscal 4th-quarter profit climbs
- Analog Devices 4Q earnings fall; 1Q outlook upbeat
- KBR to bid for part of $3B Air Force contract
Text Size 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Five Birmingham police officers were fired Wednesday for beating an apparently unconscious suspect after a roadway chase, an attack caught on a patrol car videotape that didn't surface publicly for a year.
Police Chief A.C. Roper said the officers, who were not identified, were seasoned veterans but acted in a "shameful" manner.
The video shows police pursuing Anthony Warren's van on Jan. 23, 2008. One officer on foot was injured when the van swerved through traffic. The van overturned on a ramp, ejecting Warren, who lay motionless as officers ran toward him. The video shows them beating him with fists, feet and a billy club.
Roper said the department had "terminated 50 years of combined service due to 10 seconds of injustice."
The officers can appeal.
Authorities believe numerous Birmingham officers and as many as a half-dozen supervisors saw the video over the past year, but none reported it.
"In addition to these terminations, we're also reviewing our supervisor's actions, reporting mechanisms and policies," Roper said.
He said disciplinary action may be taken against supervisors. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation will review possible criminal charges.
Caught on tape
District Attorney Brandon Falls said Wednesday the tape of the beating surfaced unexpectedly as prosecutors were preparing to try Warren for assault in connection with the chase.
He said prosecutors had a video of the chase "but the beating was not on the copy we had."
Falls said the prosecutor wanted to play the video for the jury but, for technical reasons, she needed another copy and asked for the original.
"We got the original the week before the trial ... and that's where she saw the rest of the tape," he said.
He said they contacted the defense, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the Birmingham police chief.
Warren, who had been held under $1 million bond after the chase, pleaded guilty in March 2009 to first-degree assault and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Because of his plea, no trial was held.
Print
Email
- The show attracts a big TV audience every year, but this year it may take on even more importance.
- …you'll want to be prepared. Tips for getting the most out of the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy.
- Congressman Ron Paul explains to Squawk Box why he’s pushing legislation to audit the Federal Reserve.
- CNBC’s Phil LeBeau took a test drive of GM’s flagship electric car. Here’s what he thought of the Volt.
- The energy company Power Efficiency is building tools that regulate the power electric motors use.
- CNBC’s technology reporter Jim Goldman guides you through the best gadgets to buy this holiday season.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes