QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES
Means "Who Polices the Police?"
OR
Rodney King on the Mississippi

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

NOPD officers' account of beating disputed

A retired elementary school teacher who returned to the storm-struck city over the weekend to check on his properties was searching for cigarettes when he was arrested and repeatedly punched in the head by police, the man's lawyer and his father said today.

Robert Davis had not been drinking before he was beaten and taken into custody Saturday night, said attorney Joseph Bruno. The lawyer's comments contradict police reports that allege Davis was publicly intoxicated.

"I didn't do anything. I was going to get a pack of cigarettes and taking my evening constitutional," Davis said.

Meanwhile, a federal civil rights investigation was opened into the beating of the 64-year-old Davis, an incident that was captured on videotape.

The two city police officers accused in the beating, and a third accused of grabbing and shoving an Associated Press Television News producer who helped capture the confrontation on tape, pleaded not guilty to battery charges and were released today.

And

Two other officials in the video appeared to be federal officers, according to police. Numerous agencies have sent officers to help with patrols in the aftermath of Katrina, and Defillo said it would be up to their commanders to decide if they would face charges.

Click here for the rest.

Caught on tape, eh? Well, it's been a long time since the King beating in LA: here's what we can do that we couldn't do then, link to the video, courtesy of Crooks and Liars.

Longtime Real Art readers know that I'm very much of the opinion that police corruption and abuses are widespread, but something like this is still startling, even to me. I've already mentioned how the NOPD has a longstanding reputation for misbehavior, so while startled, I'm not surprised, but the possible involvement of FBI agents is troubling, at the very least. Obviously, "outrageous" doesn't even begin to describe this event. "Over the top" comes a bit closer, but still...it's fortunate that a reporter was there at just the right moment, which makes sense because the whole world is watching the Big Easy right now. If that weren't the case, however, there's a good chance we'd have never heard about it, and Davis might have been processed through the system like millions of other individuals without so much as an "I'm sorry we smashed your head into a brick wall."

What's extraordinary about this is that know about it, not that it happened. Really, shit like this happens every day. And that's the real crime.

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