Mayor: Officers in taped beating will be fired
4 officers to be fired, 3 will be disciplined, supervising sergeant demoted
City officials: Beatings were inexcusable but had nothing to do with race
Suspect's mother says she, attorney not allowed to see suspect after his
arrest
Video shows police officers punching, kicking suspects, hitting them with
batons
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Four Philadelphia police officers will
be fired, three others will be disciplined and a supervising sergeant will
be demoted because of the violent beating of three suspects caught after a
shooting, the city's mayor and police commissioner said Monday.
On May 5, a television news helicopter captured footage of more than a dozen
predominantly white police officers pulling three African-American men out
of a car after a pursuit.
The video footage shows the officers kicking, punching and striking the
suspects with batons while the men lie restrained on the ground.
Two of the men were struck at least 20 times each. Watch the officers pummel
the men »
"The video kind of speaks for itself," Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey
told WTXF-TV's "Good Day Philadelphia" on May 6.
Ramsey and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter have said the beatings were
inexcusable but had nothing to do with race. See the community reaction to
the case »
Policeidentified the three suspects as Dwayne Dyches, 24; Brian Hall, 23;
and Pete Hopkins, 19. They have been charged with criminal conspiracy,
aggravated and simple assault and reckless endangerment.
The suspects were believed to have been involved in a triple shooting at a
streetcorner, Ramsey said. Of the 19 officers on the scene when the suspects
were apprehended, eight had physical contact with the suspects, and a police
review found only one of them to have acted within appropriate limits, he
said.
Thirty-fifth District officers Vincent Strain, Patrick Gallagher, Patrick
Whalen and Robert Donnelly are being dismissed for indiscriminate use of
force, he said. Narcotics Strike Force officer Sean Bascom, 25th District
officer Jonathon Czapor and 35th District officer Demetrios Pittaoulis are
being suspended for from five to 15 days.
Although the supervising sergeant on the scene, Joseph Shiavone, did not
have physical contact with the suspects, he is being demoted for his failure
to intervene or subdue his subordinates.
The district attorney's office and the FBI will continue their
investigations of the incident, Ramsey said. He also said an outside group,
the Police Executive Research Forum, has been contracted to further review
the department's policies and procedures.
Lemoia Dyches, the mother of one of the suspects, said she was unable to see
her son after his arrest. "They wouldn't even permit his attorney to see
him," she said. "It strikes me as strange."
The police commissioner initially said officers had seen the suspects fire
shots, injuring three people on a streetcorner. Three suspects fled the
scene in a vehicle, and a fourth -- the shooter -- escaped on foot, Ramsey
originally said.
However, media reports this weekend indicate police have changed their
account; they now allege Hopkins was the shooter.
Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross, in charge of field operations, told The
Philadelphia Inquirer there was confusion during the investigation over
whether the gunman fled or returned to the vehicle.
"We certainly believe based on police witness accounts that four people
drive up," Ross told the newspaper. "Then three people get back in the car
and drive off."
The gunman got back in the car, Ross said. Police told the Inquirer they are
still seeking a fourth suspect.
Ramsey said the police force has been under stress since Sgt. Stephen
Liczbinski was shot and killed with an assault rifle May 3 while responding
to a bank robbery. One suspect in that shooting was killed by police in the
confrontation, and another has been apprehended. A third suspect is at
large.
Authorities want to know whether the officers' emotions over Liczbinski's
death -- and their desire to apprehend the suspect who remains at large --
had a role in their actions.
Stress levels among officers on the street are "simply too high," and the
department aims to eliminate 12-hour shifts, Ramsey said soon after the
incident.
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