I have a feeling that this guy doesn't want to push his luck. Wouldn't do for the news guys to go snooping through his police record. Just a hunch.

This poor guy is just a simple Uncle Tom who is used to being beat down by the system. Reparations for this agregious act are not enough. We will must mobilize the media to highlight this act, demand a civil rights investigation, and coerce some bling from N.O. police dept.

That, my friends, is the only way to affect real social progress.

There's something very hopeful about a travesty like this for once not being viewed through the us vs. them racial prism that so poisons relations between blacks and whites.

Amen, if indeed there is a 'travesty' here. I'd hope that these guys were only trying to restrain someone who was really out of line and uncooperative. If not, they should be in jail.
But hey, perhaps these are some of those New Orleans stressed out cops, some of the ones that still haven't had their trip to Vegas...

The beating was awful to watch. And I don't think he deserved it at all and the police should be punished. But I saw the guy today and he said that he was asking a black officer for the time. And the other officer intevened and the guy said he told him to back off or something. He said he admitted he was rude.

what the hell is that about? You were asking the time and got beat up???? Me thinks there were some rude comments made and the officer snapped.

I always tell my kids, if you get stopped by the police the proper response to everything they say is Yes sir, no sir (or mam as the case may be) NEVER argue.

RWS, can I get a ruling on "kiss my ass, officer sir"?

Policeman has a gun and a stick.

Policeman has a phone, and a number he can call to get more guys with guns and sticks.

"Yes, sir" isn't just the Law, it's a Good Idea.

Meanwhile, excitable Andy is patting himself on the back for being one of the few principled critics of Bush.

This guy sounds like he might be from my tribe.

So, maybe he did an unwise thing saying something flippant to a stressed-out cop. Unwise, but not illegal, and certainly understandable if his version of the story is at all accurate.

If this situation is what it looks like, then those cops need to be charged with assault. I'm sorry, but cops acting like thugs is something that we as a society need to have zero tolerance for.

As to Davis' insistence that it wasn't racially motivated, I'd guess that part of it is that he understandably doesn't want a repeat of anything like the Rodney King riots.

Uh, the stressed-out cop thing was a joke, Kevin.
Ya know, free trip to Vegas?

Here in Europe (well, at least Portugal...) the press are having a field day with this. "See, i told you those damn Americans were all racists!" seems to be the phrase of the day.

He deserves a medal! Conversely the MSM/DNC deserve to be given dunce hats and sent to the corner.

Right, because Portugese cops never beat on, say, Moroccan immigrants. Nope, never.

Of course that's not an excuse. SJKevin is right: if this is what it looks like, it is 150% not okay.

For a cop to cross the line like this is 10 times worse than for a non-cop. With great power ... well, you know the rest.

I got an e-mail from a friend in Britain saying the same thing. They are playing this up and saying "Look at the brutal racist Americans!" Never mind the millions of great police officers out there every day saving our asses! ARRGGHHHHH!!!!!!

Two thoughts:

You should treat cops with respect, but you don't have to suck up to them as if we live in a Police State. This isn't the USSR.

By declining to play the race card, this guy's credibility skyrocketed.

More thoughts:
Typically, when I see video for one of these beatdowns, I have a knee-jerk reaction to side with the cops because the suspect is flipping out, tossing himself around, etc. From what I saw of THIS video, though, they basically had this old guy up against the wall before one of the cops started punching him in the back of the head.

You also have to consider what a shitty, corrupt police force New Orleans has. They make New York's Mafia Cops look like saints. The substantial portion of the force--both white and black--is on the take.

The NOPD, should be totally disbanded, the state and counnty LEOs run the city untill a new police NO department is formed, uncorrupt from the ground up.

Oops...how can a corrupt city government run by a corrupt city Mayor and city council form a clean NOPD.

NOPD officials and officers are a disgrace to the nations police dervices.

A 42 year retired LEO.

TexasAC

Knemon: Moroccan immigrants? Probably not. Fortunately we still haven't been infected, err...invaded by Muslim "immigrants". Latest census showed around 50000 muslims in a population of 10.5 million.