Cops Are Caught On Tape Beating Suspect
August 12th, 2008Black chief calls the incident an outrage – the police union disagrees

Police in West Palm Beach, Fla., have released a videotape of officers kicking and beating a Hispanic suspect that is so shocking that the chief of police, in a public rebuke of her officers’ actions, is at odds with the police union over the amount of force used. “To see this actually happens, obviously I’m not pleased with it at all. We are held at a much higher standard than anyone else,” said Police Chief Delsa Bush, an African American. On the video, which is only the latest in a string of police beatings caught live in recent years, Louis Schwartz and Kurt Graham can be seen kicking a handcuffed suspect on the ground outside of a drugstore. A few seconds later, the suspect, Pablo Venezuela, still cuffed but now standing, is repeatedly punched in the face by another policeman, Jason Zangara. All three officers are White. Lawrence Fagan, a police union attorney representing the three officers, says, “It is our position that the force they used was proper. They feel they used that force necessary to diffuse the situation and only the force that was legal and proper. Period.” Venezuela, who is suing the West Palm Beach Police Department, received cuts over his eye and needed several stitches, according to the arrest report. Early on in the videotape, a man who appears to be Venezuela is seen using pepper spray as a weapon to rob oxycodone Graham resigned last month, while Schwartz and Zangara are on paid administrative leave. Bush has not yet announced any discipline for the officers.
RSS Feed
Newsletter



**UPDATE** Both of the crooked cops were fired! Now hopefully they will be prosecuted and do some SERIOUS jail time! I liked to see how they would be treated @ PBSO. Probably like Martha Stewart!
Do anything ever change. I would like to see the white cops beating up a white man and see what happens to them. Florida is a very racist state they don’t care about people just themselves. There was no need for excessive force and I know that they were not trained to act that way. The plice just use their badge to do a crime and get away with it. They should be charged with the crime and not be on administrive leave with pay, it should be without pay. How can them potect the people when they are the ones dong the most crime and getting away with it. The attroney for the officers should know what he or she is talking about, it could easily be their child. They were watch their children backs, because i guarantee the officers who are committing these crimes don’t act who your parents are before the beat the crap out of you of in some instants dead. Would the attorney then say they were justified in their actions then.
I wonder what Bamsie (bama) will do about it in the future…
This can’t go on obvious…
Some day kids will learn in history class that it is a normal thing for cops to beat up other people…
IT SEEMS LIKE POLICE BRUTALITY GETS MORE SEVERE, EVEN THOUGH ITS MORE REPORTED, LITTLE WAYNES DAUGHTER DIDNT DIE, THANK GOD JUST A DUMB RUMOR SOMEONE MEAN SPIRITED PERSON STARTED……………………….
LoL y r u people so shocked? lol if u mess wit the cops or ur doing sumthing wrong expect to not get treated right, it dont matter if we are in america or not if ur doing sumthing wrong enough to get the attention of the cops then guess what people, the cops own u, so dont complain or act suprised when u get ur butt kicked
The police are out of hand but it don’t matter why because they are police and to the chef and other police officer’s their not doing any wrong.Police are doing things wrong also. and to the one name Joe that left your comment so let the cops catch u doing something wrong WOULD U LIKE FOR THEM TO KICK YOUR BUTT EVEN IF YOU ARE HAND CUFFED THE ANSWER TO THAT IS NO.BUT THEN AGAIN WHO KNOWS. THAT WAS NOT A NICE THING TO SAY AND THE GUY WAS HANDCUFFED WHAT IF THAT HAD BEEN ONE OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS U WOULD NOT HAVE LIKED THAT IN THE LEAST.
I haven’t seen the video, but I have to wonder when did the police become so violent? I know that sometimes suspects give the police hell and there is reason to use excessive force, but geez, is this an everyday occurrence? I don’t understand when it became routine for officers to beat the crap out of every suspect they apprehend. Lawd! It makes me scared to call for help because they may kick the s@#$ out of me…a mess!!! I hope that these officers get what’s coming to them…and that police union attorney too.
Joe,
How many ass whippings have you had to have that attitude?
I have been a police officer in the State of Florida for almost 17 years. I worked briefly for the West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD) during the early years of my career. As with most law enforcement agencies, at the WPBPD the overwhelming majority of the officers are decent hard-working men and women that love doing the job that they do for the community they serve. Of what I can remember of my experiences there; it was a very professional agency that prided itself in the level of service it offered to the city of West Palm Beach. For a police officer to use excessive force in dealing with bad guys is completely unacceptable. When an officer commits such an act he is shaming himself, his, family, his is co-workers, his department, his community and his badge. Every act of excessive force by a police officer diminishes the public’s trust on the entire profession. This is something that simply cannot be tolerated by the men and women that go out every day to justly serve and protect knowing that it could be their last day alive. The officers that committed this cowardly, unprofessional and criminal act will have their day in court. My hope is that the police department’s internal investigation was thorough; that the State Attorney’s Office is diligent in its prosecution of these bad cops (there’s a difference between bad cops and good police officers) and that a jury of their peers adhere to the law and not allow sympatric views for the hard work police officers have to do influence their decisions. When all is said and done the video tape does not lie. The video recording was in fact an impartial witness to the crime and is only reporting it as it happened. Video is frequently used to help convict criminals and this case should be no different. Contrary to the views expressed by the majority of posters in this forum; police officers in the State of Florida and for that matter this country are not “out of control” or “thinking we are God”. Law enforcement is a hard and unforgiving job that not everyone is cut out to do. Just like in every other profession occasionally the wrong people will get through the protections that are in place. Most all police officers today do not want to be associated with bad cops; within the law enforcement community there is a very low threshold for such behavior and more often than not, it is another police officer, a good police officer, which facilitates the actions needed to get rid of a bad cop. To the citizens that we serve I would ask that you try to remember that there are literally tens of thousands of people taken into custody each year, either for temporary detention or arrest, and only a fractional number of them are ever treated in a way that society would consider abusive or with excessive force. Saying this does not excuse, explain or forgive the actions of those bad cops that commit these acts; but I hope it puts the issue of excessive force by the police into context. Lastly, to the citizens we serve; please try to also remember that last year there were 181 law enforcement officers that died in the line of duty, up from 151 in 2006. Forever lost while trying to do the job they loved … protect and serve. Those officers and their families deserve your passion and activism too. – In memory of Capt. Michael Lawrence Sparks Sr. (http://www.nleomf.com/TheMemorial/tributes/fallenheroes/sparkes_aug08.htm)
Cops ….You are making people very angry .No wonder there are so many cop killings .I don’t feel sorry when it happens ,they look for it.Stop treating people like animals and you’ll see that you’re kindness will safe your life.
FUCC DA POE-POE…WE AS PEOPLE{AMERICANS} SHOULD COME TOGETHER AND BEAT THEY AZZES…FOR DOING WUT DEY THINK DEY CAN DO!!!!
I respect cops because one of my aunts was one, but these crooked cops need to get what they deserve. If they don’t, this country will become chaos. To have those meant to protect people by the law doing as they please is too extreme to simply call wrong. They seem to not get fired because they may be lacking cops or something, but that just allows crimes to be committed very easily by those with too much power.
I saw the video, and they were just all wrong.They served him raw. i feel sorry for the old man .
and they wonder why people have so much hostility towards the Law.
it’s really sad that the police can get away with a crime it’s caught on tape they have been doing this for a long long time and they have the nerve to still get what kind of world is this but everyone has to answer to GOD EVERYONE IT’S WRONG . i see why people do what they do where is the justice street justice god bless america police are the worse kind cause they wear a badge but are some good cops out there very few
THEY BE DOING PEOPLE WRONG
im sorry bout your girl did she really die
Reply to: Holly and Woody Wood. You say that “cops … you are making people very angry”; well guess what, bad guys – people who commit some of the most violent crimes against others and think that they can get away with it make us very angry … as it should you. You suggest that the reason there are so many “cop killings” is because people are angry at what they believe is state of mass police brutality in this country. The reality is reports of police brutality are on the decline as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. That being the case there obviously must be some other reason why there is increasing levels of violence towards law enforcement officers; you know, those individuals charged with and who have sworn to enforce the laws, protect your property and generally keep your azz safe. Let me be clear and reiterate something I said in a previous post. As a police officer of 17 years I do not condone the actions of “bad cops”, I do not support the abuse or brutalization of the citizens that we serve. The overwhelming majority of good police officers do not believe in mistreating people and are against police brutality in all forms while still knowing put it on the line for you every day. As long as a person respects me and my coworkers he or she will never have a problem while I am around. Unfortunately more than once I have had to intervene in a situation where it appeared a “bad cop” was about to commit an act of abuse. I did not hesitate to prevent the action and reported the officer to my superiors and the Internal Affairs units. By the same token I have also seen situations where bad guys purposely and intently provoke officers who into a response. It is not difficult to comply with lawful police orders. If the police say stop … then STOP! If the police say put your hands up … then PUT YOU HANDS UP! If the police say that you are under arrest, then you are under arrest! You should not fight to get away from us and expect not to get hurt. It really quite simple, if you fight with us … we fight back! If you are under arrest and you comply, then you just go to jail to await your day in court in which your innocence or guilt will be proven or disproven with the help of prosecutors and defense attorneys. I like many other police officers have had to use force in the course of performing my duties. In 17 years of law enforcement, I have never escalated the use of force without the bad guy doing something to take me there. My use of force in dealing with these bad guys have always been lawful and at an appropriate level. Ultimately the bad guy determines what level of force is necessary to get them to comply with a lawful police order. They themselves can choose whether to fight with the police and risk getting hurt or even killed, or yield to the officer commands and being taken into custody without force. In your post you said that “you don’t feel sorry” when a police officer is killed. Sadly that statement alone shows why our society is the way it is today. More and more these days it seems as if the loss of human life is acceptable to everyday people, and as for bad guys they don’t give human life consideration at all. There was a time in this country where fighting with the police was unheard of and killing a police officer was taboo. Oddly enough this was the case during a time when police officers had little training, was given the same social consideration as the mailman and more often than not actually committing acts of routine police brutality. Yet today’s law enforcement officers are often looked down upon by many members of society and enjoy less respect then officers of years past; even though today’s officers are considered professionals requiring 800+ hours of police academy training, another 3 months of actual field training and many agencies also require Bachelor degree all before an individual can perform the duties of a police officer. I won’t even get into the countless number of in-service training hours required annually to maintain police certification. For any citizen to say that they don’t feel sorry when a police officer is killed in the line of duty should be an outrage for the whole country. Police Officers do the will of the people! For you not to care is saying that you have given up on your own self and what you want the country to be for you, your children and your children’s children. Please reconsider your thoughts and feelings about your police officers; we can’t do it without you. But if not caring about a police officer being killed during his efforts to protect you and yours is how you truly feel … then please stay the hell out of the Great State of Florida. By in large our fellow citizens support us in what we do and that support emboldens us in our efforts to make our communities safer. In 2006 there were 59,907 assaults on law enforcement officers, up from 59,492 from the previous year. – In memory of Officer Isabel Nazari (http://www.odmp.org/officer/19543-police-officer-isabel-nazario)
buy wellbutrin,buy prednisone,buy ambien,buy prozac,buy accutane,buy cipro,buy amoxicillin,buy clomid,buy diflucan,buy paxil
order lexapro – lexapro cipro online – cipro buy celebrex – celebrex buy nexium online – nexium buy butalbital online – butalbital buy doxycycline – doxycycline buy codeine online – codeine valtrex online – valtrex zoloft – zoloft clomid online – clomid
order ambien – ambien buy diazepam – diazepam buy wellbutrin online – wellbutrin alprazolam – alprazolam order prozac – prozac tamiflu online – tamiflu lorazepam – lorazepam buy nexium – nexium buy zoloft – zoloft klonopin – klonopin