Philly Cops Filmed Beating Black Man, Investigation Underway

Philadelphia Police have launched an Internal Affairs Investigation into an alleged beating of a black man during an arrest in April.

The investigation began after a smartphone video, titled Philadelphia Cops Beat and Tase Black Man While He Screams for His Grandma, was posted to YouTube Wednesday.

According to the Daily News, police have confirmed they are looking into circumstances surrounding the drug arrest of Tyree Carroll, 22. Police told the publication they are still in the process of identifying all of the officers in the video.

The video, released Wednesday by blogger Jasmyne Cannick, shows about a dozen officers surrounding Carroll, who appears to be tased repeatedly, punched and kicked.

Cannick was in touch with Carroll’s family, who wanted to bring the matter to the public’s attention.

According to her blog:

Carroll was riding his bike on Locust Avenue in Germantown on April 3 at 7:30 p.m. when he was stopped by a police officer for going the wrong way on a one-way street.

He complied when stopped and spoke with the officer, who then put his hands behind his back before four policemen “were suddenly on top of him,” Cannick writes in her blog.

“One police officer put Tyree in a chokehold and wrestled him to the ground. Officers repeatedly struck him with their fists. They kicked him and hit him with a nightstick.”

Click here to read the full blog entry.