The Classic Liberal Blog

Here's another story about a violent cop getting caught on video.

In the following video, Iraq veteran Walter Harvin is attempting to enter the housing project where he lives with his mom. The problem however, is that Harvin doesn't have his key or any identification on him. Being that he was trying to enter without a key, the cop was certainly doing the right thing by stopping him to ask questions.

It's obvious Walter Harvin isn't happy about being questioned by Police Officer David London too. In fact, Harvin physically assaults London (by shoving him) first. The surveillance video below doesn't have audio, so I don't know what words were exchanged, but in this situation (having no key and no identification), Harvin definitely should have cooperated with Officer London.

While Harvin isn't exactly an innocent bystander here, London's brutal attack still appears to be quite excessive. After all, Harvin was down on the ground and not fighting back. The 2 cops should have been able to detain him without beating the crap out of him. Instead, it looks like Officer London's temper got the best of him.

Here's the video, you decide.

Iraq Vet was Aggressive before Beating from Housing Cop that was Caught on Camera, witness says

Walter Harvin – confronted by Officer David London as he tried to enter his mother’s W. 93rd St. building without a key – hurled obscenities before, during and after the baton beating inflicted by London, Mohammed Khan said on the stand.

Harvin yelled “I’ll kill you mother—-er,” and “I’ll f— you up” as London hit him repeatedly, Khan said. He also kicked the cop while on the ground, Khan said.

The video, released publicly for the first time yesterday, shows Harvin shoving London and the cop striking him again and again, continuing to smack the 28-year old and kick him after he was on the ground.

Harvin’s uncle, Earl Jones, stormed out of court in disgust when the video was shown. “You don’t beat a dog like that,” Jones, 55, said. “The public should see it. They need to see so they can be aware how cops treat people.”

An Officer Is Accused of Beating a Suspect

Last July, Police Officer David London arrested a man in the Upper West Side building where he lived with his mother, accusing him of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

But the building’s surveillance video told a different story, District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said Wednesday.

It showed Officer London pulling the man out of an elevator, Mr. Morgenthau said, and beating him 18 to 20 times with a baton. The beating continued even after the man, Walter Harvin, fell to the ground, Mr. Morgenthau said. And even after Mr. Harvin was in handcuffs, Officer London delivered another eight to 10 blows, some with his feet, Mr. Morgenthau said.

Officer London, 43, has been indicted on charges of assault and filing false records and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. He was released without bail. If convicted he faces up to seven years in prison.

Stephen C. Worth, his lawyer, said Officer London “maintains his innocence strenuously.”

Without the audio, it's difficult to assess everything that went down. But even if Harvin isn't completely innocent, London did falsify his report. Why falsify your report if you did nothing wrong?

I think London took it too far. What do you think?