Video Shows Black Teen Brutally Beaten by NYPD Officers Was Not Holding Drugs, Did Not Punch Officer [View all]

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Video Shows Black Teen Brutally Beaten by NYPD Officers Was Not Holding Drugs, Did Not Punch Officer


In January, four NYPD officers were caught on tape brutally beating 19-year-old Jateik Reed in the Bronx. The officers claimed they stopped Reed after seeing him hold marijuana and a bag containing crack residue, and that Reed struck police first. Now, surveillance video obtained by New York One appears to show that the entire confrontation was unprovoked -- and that the charges officers levied against the Black youth are false.

Reed did not punch officers as they claimed, and Reed's hands -- but no drugs -- are clearly visible in the video. What is not clear, however, is where the drugs police must have submitted to evidence came from. In March, Reed's attorneys told AlterNet that the not-yet-released footage proved Reed did not hit officers or act suspiciously in any way. But they also said that the officers appear to pick drugs up from the ground.

Reed's attorney Michael Warren told AlterNet the video "clearly indicates two things."

"Number one," he said, "That it was a racially contextual stop, because they weren't involved with any criminal activity whatsoever." Jateik Reed told AlterNet the stop-and-frisk turned violent when when he threatened to file a complaint to the Civilian Complaint Review Board. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/912616/video_shows_black_teen_brutally_beaten_by_nypd_officers_was_not_holding_drugs%2C_did_not_punch_officer/