The Rev. Johnny Scott, president of the NAACP's East St. Louis branch said he has requested a federal investigation into the kicking and beating of the suspect by police after he was in custody. Scott said he also is disturbed by the high-speed police pursuit that led to the capture.
The FBI confirmed Thursday that the agency is looking into the matter.
Supervisory FBI agent Marshall Stone said the agency is reviewing the video footage it has received. After the review is complete, the FBI will determine whether a civil rights violation case should be opened. Stone said the FBI welcomes witnesses calling in, and will include in its review any other information it gathers.
He did not know when the review would be completed.
Woodson Terrace, Mo., Police Chief Robert Dowling said his officers, who were involved in the high-speed chase and were caught on video subduing the suspect, followed proper procedure and will not be punished, KSDK-TV, Channel 5 reported.
Scott found the footage disturbing.
"When I saw what the police were doing to the man on television, my heart was in my mouth," he said. "The method they used to apprehend this person and the way they pursued him was not right."
The FBI has stated the arrest was related to the May 2 robbery at the national City Bank in Ferguson, Mo. The chase reached speeds of more than 90 mph and included Interstate 64 and Interstate 255.
Scott noted the high-speed chase was dangerous to other motorists, and cited the Nov. 23 deaths of two Collinsville sisters whose vehicle was struck on Interstate 64 by an Illinois State Police cruiser. The trooper was charged with reckless homicide in their deaths and pleaded not guilty.
"With all of the police that were involved in the pursuit, we could have had another situation like that when they boxed the suspect in to prevent him from going back into Missouri," Scott said. "I had great relief when it didn't happen that way, though."
Scott likened arrest of the suspect to that of Rodney King, whose beating by Los Angeles police officers in 1991 was caught on videotape. The police officers later were acquitted.
"When they caught up with him, you had a lot of policemen just as you did in the Rodney King situation several years ago, who were not involved in the capture, who ran up to the suspect after he had been apprehended and started kicking and punching him," Scott said. "They can't do that. There's nothing in the Constitution that gives them the right to do that. They are not authorized to inflict bodily harm because the person has committed a crime or because they flee. After the arrest, the next step is the prosecution. From there, things go to the court. The courts mete out the person's punishment, not the police."
Contact reporter Carolyn P. Smith at csmith@bnd.com or 239-2503.
