Tape Shown of PG County Officer Beating Handcuffed Non-Resisting Black Man
/Prince George's County prosecutors on
Tuesday showed jurors a videotape that allegedly shows a county police
officer kicking and striking a handcuffed suspect after a police
chase. The tape, shown on the second day of Cpl. Bryan K. Addis's
trial for second-degree assault and making a false entry on a public
record, is central to the prosecution's claim that the officer used
excessive force while arresting the carjacking suspect Oct. 5,
2003. However, Addis's attorneys argue that the officer's use of
force to subdue Vernon Bullock after a high speed chase was justified
because he didn't not know whether Bullock was armed when he crashed a
stolen van after exiting the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in
Greenbelt. The case comes a year after the county signed an
agreement with the Justice Department after a lengthy federal probe of
alleged abuse and excessive force by county officers. Prince George's
agreed to implement several measures to help reduce misconduct,
including the installation of mounted cameras inside police cruisers
that record officers actions when they leave their cars. The videotape
introduced in Addis's trial and played Tuesday was from the dashboard
camera that recorded his pursuit of Bullock and the eventual
arrest. Bullock, now 22, used a gun he found in the woods to
steal the van from a man washing it in his driveway. He then led police
on a 12 minute chase through Greenbelt and the surrounding area,
weaving through traffic at high speeds. As Bullock exited the Parkway
at Route 197, he lost control, skidded across an intersection and
crashed into a guard rail. The tape shows a dazed Bullock stumble out
of the van onto the ground. Addis and other officers involved in the
chase soon swarm around him. Addis appears to kick Bullock as he
lay on the ground and swing his baton at him several times. It is not
clear whether the kicks or baton blows landed. Addis then walks
away for a short while, during which time Bullock is handcuffed and
propped up on a curb. Addis then returns, and appears to strike Bullock
several times with his knee and again with the baton.
Another officer who took part in the arrest, Sgt. Tiffany Yuen,
handcuffed Bullock as he lay on the ground. She said she did not see
Addis hit Bullock, but testified the suspect was not fighting
back. "I don't remember any resistance," she said. [more] and [more] and [more]
