By Jim Guy
Fresno Bee
FRESNO, Calif. — Two Fresno police officers have been taken off the street while the department investigates a video showing one officer repeatedly striking a man with his fists in the head while the second officer attempts to restrain the man.
The video, taken Monday morning by a bystander near Blackstone and Bullard avenues, was released Tuesday by KSEE (Channel 24). It shows one officer striking Glen Beaty, 52.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Tuesday evening the video was troubling, but added that he would wait until an investigation is complete before deciding whether the officers’ actions were inappropriate.
“On the surface, the video is disturbing -- one that’s going to have a lot of people concerned,” he said.
Dyer said an investigation would include interviews with the two officers, an examination of the police report prepared by the officers and witness statements. He said the report showed Beaty was combative and intoxicated and that Beaty struck an officer in the arm with a fist and also ripped the badge off an officer.
The two officers were placed on modified status Tuesday, which means they will be limited to office duty. This is because of the seriousness of the allegations and also because the officers’ faces have been shown on the video.
The chief said that it is too early to say whether it was appropriate for the officer to punch Beaty in the head.
“I think it’s too early to decide,” Dyer said.
Police also released a report from 2004 when Beaty was arrested by Fresno County sheriff’s deputies on charges of resisting arrest, threatening a witness and false imprisonment with violence. That arrest took place after deputies went to the 700 block of West Escalon Avenue to investigate a family disturbance.
They reported that two people later identified as Beaty’s parents, Gordon and Vivian Beaty, were being kept from answering the door. The report also said Gordon Beaty had recently been assaulted.
When deputies gained entry, they reported that Beaty was combative and advanced upon deputies after being pepper-sprayed and struck in the knees with a baton.
The report said Beaty fought deputies with his fists and kicks before he was subdued by three deputies.
The release of the videotape is a new setback for the Fresno Police Department, coming after the recent arrests of narcotics officers Paul Cervantes and Hector Becerra on auto-theft charges. Narcotics officer Robert Eddings also faces misdemeanor charges for allegedly submitting false documents to the DMV or the California Highway Patrol and lying to a peace officer.
The arrests prompted Dyer to shut down the department’s drug squad until an outside auditor can determine what went wrong.
Copyright 2009 Fresno Bee