AMATEUR VIDEO POSTED TO INTERNET VINDICATES STUDENTS IN POLICE BRUTALITY CASE

CleanTV.com (July 9, 2010)– Our lead story is about the remarkable new face of criminal justice where amateur videos posted to the Internet were used in court to vindicate students accused of “disorderly belligerent. Yesterday after the prosecution viewed the videos, he dropped the case on the spot. Here are the details. In 2003, the Justice Department under the Bush administration took Prince George’s, Maryland, County to court and won, getting the court’s authority for the feds to maintain oversight of the County’s police department following a rash of reports citing excessive force against unarmed and, often, innocent citizens. Here’s some video footage provided by NPR (play video)

High-profile criminal attorney Rene Sandler was able to track down vindicating video for her 20-year-old client from a Random good Samaritan and excellent amateur videographer to show beyond the shadow of a doubt that the probationary anger-management rehab for the Maryland policemen—which just ended last year—did not work. Sandler is among several lawyers working civil actions against the police department for, once again, police brutality and excessive force.  

All of the cases this time around have a common-thread incident dating back to March 3rd of this year, when the county’s horseback riot police were on the scene in University of Maryland’s College Park. The school had just upset rival Duke in a basketball game and students were out en masse, celebrating the victory in the streets. Sandler’s client, like several other students throughout the night, said he was violently attacked by mounted police without provocation. And thanks for amateur video uploaded to the Internet, even the prosecution had to agree.