YouTube Latest Weapon in Police Corruption

Two LAPD officers are being investigated by the FBI after a takedown was video taped and put on YouTube. Turns out the takedown may have been excessively vigorous:

The 20-second video, posted on the popular YouTube Web site, shows Officer Alexander Schlegel holding down William Cardenas, 23, as Officer Patrick Farrell places his knee on the man’s neck and punches his face with a fist six times during the Aug. 11 scuffle near the intersection of Gordon Street and Fountain Avenue. Cardenas is seen struggling with the officers while lying on his back, trying to yell, “I can’t breathe.”

Although not the first time the LAPD has been caught beating the justice out of a perp, its probably the first time its been caught on YouTube.Â Also of note: its an example of YouTube being utilized at a local level by an activist group for their own agenda (regardless of what that might be), as the video was released by CopWatch a civil liberties group.Â I guess it joins both local and national politics as “other” uses of YouTube (other than stupid pet, coke, and dancing tricks that is).

Tony Hung

Tony Hung is the editor of the BlogHerald. He is also a physician finishing his last year of residency in General Internal Medicine, and blogs at Deep Jive Interests , where he rants, occasionally, on new media topics.