Police Beating Caught On Tape

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia's police commissioner says a
news video showing officers beating three suspects "does not look
good," but adds, "We don't want to rush to judgment."
A half-dozen police officers can be seen kicking and beating
three men pulled from a car during a traffic stop as a helicopter
from TV station WTXF taped the confrontation.
Police say the officers were responding to a report of a
shooting nearby. It's not yet clear what preceded the
confrontation.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says Philadelphia officers
have been on edge since Saturday, when one of their own was fatally
shot with an assault rifle after a bank robbery.
Police fatally shot one of the robbery suspects; another was
arrested and a third man is still being sought.
An attorney representing the three men seen in the video says
that as terrible as the officer's death was, it does not excuse
what happened to his clients.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)