Philadelphia officers charged with assault for beating man with batons

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Two Philadelphia police officers are facing multiple charges after allegedly beating a man and surveillance video surfaced, contradicting their initial report.

Officers Sean McKnight and Kevin Robinson turned themselves in Thursday and, according to Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, will be fired once their 30-day suspension is up, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The two have been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and conspiracy, among other offenses.

The May 29, 2013 incident was investigated when the victim’s girlfriend uncovered video surveillance that showed the officers beating 23-year-old Najee Rivera.

The officers pulled over Rivera after he allegedly ran a stop sign, but Rivera fled when he became frightened by the sight of both officers walking toward him with their batons in hand.

The initial report stated that the officers caught up with Rivera when he fell off his scooter a few blocks away. The report also claimed that Rivera threw one officer against the wall and tried to wrestle the baton away from another.

However, video surveillance from a nearby store on the 2700 block of North Sixth Street revealed a very different story. The officers knocked Rivera off his bike before hitting him repeatedly with both fists and batons.

After the incident, Rivera’s right eye was swollen shut, and he suffered a fractured orbital bone, as well as multiple bruises and lacerations that required stitches.

“Even if (Rivera) had been the devil himself, they could not have done what they did to him,” a disgusted District Attorney Seth Williams said.