Beating Beaty: Video Shows Fresno Police Repeatedly Hitting Homeless Man

The Fresno Police Department is investigating two officers videotaped beating a homeless man during his arrest. In the video below, the man, Glen Beaty, 52, is shown on the ground receiving hits to the head. Police Chief Jerry Dyer acknowledged that ‘the initial reaction of people that view this video will be one of disbelief.”

Dyer insists that the man has a violent history in dealing with the police and that “[o]ne of the officers was punched by the suspect in the arm [and] had his badge ripped off of his shirt. There was also an attempt to jab the officer in the arm with a pen that the suspect had taken from the officer’s shirt.”

Regardless of how the investigation turns out in clearing or charging the officers, the case shows again how important such video tapes have become and why England’s criminalization of videotaping officers is so reactionary.

For the video, click here.

For the full story, click here.