‘Worst since Rodney King’: San Francisco deputies charged over horrific beating caught on video
Two sheriff’s deputies have been charged with multiple felonies after video showed them repeatedly beating a suspected car thief with batons during an arrest in San Francisco last year, officials said Tuesday.
The alleyway beating of the suspect, Stanislav Petrov, was caught on surveillance video and released on YouTube by the San Francisco public defender’s office, which said it received the footage from someone who operates a security camera in the area.
WATCH: The arrest of Stanislav Petrov
The grainy footage shows two Alameda County sheriff’s deputies chasing a man on foot. As the man slows, one officer tackles him and punches him twice. The second officer arrives and starts hitting Petrov with his baton. Soon both officers can be seen hitting Petrov with their batons.
“This truly was the worst videotaped beating since Rodney King,” said Michael Haddad, who is representing Petrov in a legal claim filed against Alameda County.
Sometimes Petrov can be seen lying on the ground and other times on his knees. Once the officers begin striking him, he does not appear to be resisting.
“What is going on here is so wrong, so obviously unlawful. It is inexcusable but it is really important to understand what went wrong here and make sure nothing so horrific happens again,” said Seth Stoughton, a University of South Carolina law professor and former Tampa, Fla., police officer. “They lose it here because of adrenaline. They have an adrenaline rush from the lengthy foot pursuit.”
