Birmingham Police Officers Fired After Beating

Birmingham police beating video

ROBBIE BROWN
The New York Times
May 20, 2009

Five police officers in Birmingham, Ala., were fired on Wednesday after a video became public that shows them beating and kicking an apparently unconscious suspect in 2008 after a highway chase.

Police Chief A.C. Roper called the actions “shameful,” and the state bureau of investigation is considering charges.

The video, filmed on Jan. 23, 2008, by a police patrol car camera, showed officers chasing a suspect, Anthony Warren, who lost control of his van and was ejected from a window in the crash. After the officers raced toward Mr. Warren, motionless on the roadside, they could be seen punching, kicking and beating him with a billy club.
The video was released by the city on Wednesday after the district attorney’s office discovered it in March. Prosecutors for the district attorney, Brandon Falls, of Jefferson County, found the tape while preparing their case against Mr. Warren, who later received a 20-year sentence for first degree assault for hitting an officer with his van during the chase.