HOUSTON'S FINEST ON VIDEO DOING THAT THING THEY DO

Nothing new here. Eight cops severely beat a young black man after some sort of car chase for some sort of reason (no one seems to know what caused the "chase"). This time it is in Houston. Just another day in America. 



The following is from KHOU.

8 HPD officers on leave after accusations of police brutality
by Gabe Gutierrez / 11 News

HOUSTON – Eight Houston police officers are on paid leave after a surveillance camera caught them beating up a black suspect, a well-known community activist said Tuesday.

Quanell X said he has seen the tape, which was taken on March 24 outside of Uncle Bob’s Self Storage located at 8450 Cook Rd.

He said it happened after the officers attempted to arrest the suspect after a chase.

"You see the cops jump on top of this young man," he said, "And begin to beat the living hell out of him."

Quanell X said the white officers then handcuffed the suspect and continued to punch him for about two minutes. He said there was also one black officer who kicked the suspect in the face.

"I believe the black cop wanted to show those other officers that he was just ‘one of the guys,’ and he was willing to do whatever they wanted him to do," Quanell X said.

Quanell X compared the incident to the 1991 beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, which prompted riots after the officers involved were acquitted of any wrongdoing.

"I believe the officers should be indicted for aggravated assault and that the FBI should get involved to investigate civil rights violations," he said, adding that he saw the officers high-fiving each other after they were done.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker said she had not seen the tape, but promised a full probe into what happened. She said the officers had been "relieved of their duties" late Tuesday after a private citizen presented the security video to the district attorney’s office and the chief of police.

"Because there is an ongoing criminal investigation, I can’t go into detail about the incident," Parker said. "But it is interesting that we didn’t know about this until we received the security tape. We’ve taken immediate action."

The eight officers are part of the Westside Tactical Unit. Union officials declined to comment.

It’s still unclear what led up to the chase. The alleged beating victim’s name has not been released, although Quanell X described him as between 18 and 21 years old.

The community activist said he believes the suspect is in the Harris County jail after spending several days in the hospital.