Video has surfaced in the case of a law enforcement officer charged with assault for his mistreatment of a suspect in Marion County, Florida. The officer, Charles Broaderick, was working at the county jail when he apprehended James Duckworth, a man that had been accused of driving under the influence. The video shows Duckworth arguing with the officers before making a noise with his throat. Broaderick believes this to be a threat to spit on the officers, so he slams Duckworth against the wall and yells at him.

�Hey! You don�t spit at officers,� Broaderick says before forcibly pushing Duckworth into the wall.

Afterwards, Duckworth�s blood can be seen strewn across the white wall as the officers discuss whether or not he had spit at them. Broaderick appears to immediately realize his mistake, lifting Duckworth and attempting to give him medical attention. According to the Daily Mail, Broaderick was arrested for assault regarding the incident but spent just 13 minutes in a cell at the prison, after which he posted his $2,000 bail. He has been placed on unpaid leave as the investigation unfolds and the lawsuit against him continues.

Due to the increased use of security monitors as well as individual smartphones, prevalence of police brutality being caught on camera has been widespread throughout the past few years. Stories such as that of Oscar Grant (the BART rider shot by an Oakland officer and documented in the recent film �Fruitvale Station�) demonstrate that while this ability to self-monitor our officers allows justice against innocent victims to be served, even overwhelming evidence of police brutality cannot change the actions of the officers nor the victims that suffer injuries due to their actions. [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sxInfITfnmY[/video]

I don't like being spit at.

Don't take a job as a cop then.

Unreal.

Saw a good one the other day...

Q: How many cops did it take to throw the perp down a flight of stairs.?

A: None,.. he slipped....

Dang straight it was assault.

Nobody does.

If I, non-leo, believe someone in restraints sitting before me might spit at me in the presence of law enforcement officers and I split his head open, would that be justified or would I be arrested?

The officer was justified only in spitting back. That would have made for a great video.

Marion County is my home turf, born and raised in Ocala.....

A spitter, in restraints, gets treated to the spit mask. I know several guys that don't clean spit masks........spitters get to share "product" with each other.

George

He may be justified in spitting back but I doubt it...how does he respond when there is a possibility that the spitter has AIDS or Hep C?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't people with AIDS been charged with felony assault for spitting at people? Just sayin'...

The guy never spit on any police officer , the cop and his department will lose in court on this one , big time

Looks clear cut that the cop is in hot water. Slamming a drunk, do you feel good now? Hope the drunk gets $$ from this.

I didn't see any spitting, regardless, that cop is [bleep].

But he sure proved to the world that he is one tough dude!

If he even tried to spit I'm all for him taking a hit.

Strangely, the Fox video from about 3 weeks ago of the big cop throwing a drunk young lady into a holding room in a fashion to crush her sternum against the steel, immovable chair is not to be found anywhere.

the fellow is lucky Officer Broaderick didn't just pop a cap on him.
Seems I read somewhere, that spiting was all the reason a cop needed to kill the perp.

No way I could do the job.

If a fella hacked a wad and even made like he was gonna spit, I have no issue with him getting his head cracked. Not that it's legal or even right.

Argumentative I can handle, spitters....not so much. I can't get too mad at this cop.

Myself. May not be legal but it ought to be.

I have mixed reactions.

To no one in particular-

IF, I ask IF, this guy was going to spit, and there's not a bit of proof that he was about to, it would seem that the safest course of action for these officers would have been to step out of range. Instead, officer I'm a big bad ass, decides to assault him.

Like RickyD asked, what if anyone of us did the same thing to this guy? Could we expect leniency and understanding that we were just looking out for our own safety? Not fugging likely.

It's pretty damn sad that due to actions like this and many other incidents, we often have to question the trust we place in law enforcement.

The officer will be out of a job soon.

and the city out of a bunch of money to boot

The cop made up the spit thing. There was nothing on video even hinting at him spitting. He wanted an excuse to deliver "justice." I wonder if he realized the video was running.

What's up with all the skin heads on cops lately?

I know there are good cops and I'm thankful for them, but this is just one of the many meatheads' who need to be sent packing.

What he did was uncalled for, as being spat on is not an immediately life threatening act.

Instead of pushing the gentleman's head down where he couldn't spit on anyone, he chose to slam his head into the wall.

Wrong answer.- Think more, lift weights less.

In all honesty if the big fella was paying closer attention and not reacting to sound, he would have seen the drunk was likely experiencing some type of gag reflex from the drink and not spitting. It will cost him and his dept.

I don't know what the cop was really thinking but he went way beyond anything he should have done. Maybe wrestling alligators would be a more suitable job for him.

He was to stupid to realize the camera was running.

It seems to me that the cop was just looking for the slightest reason to inflict harm on this guy and now he's screwed for his decision.

Just typical cop behavior.

A friend of mine was arrested and handcuffed. While my friend was standing there with his hands cuffed behind his back, for no apparent reason, The local cop slammed his head into the police car so hard that he had to have his ear sown back on before being transported. His deal was having charges dropped if he doesn't bring up a lawsuit.

Sounds like a Mafia tactic.

Should have taken the deal and then waited a year and sued the chit out of 'em

I wouldn't have taken that deal .

Careful George. If someone became infected with a deadly disease do to this practice while in custody, you guys would be liable.

It might be funny, but I would suggest against it.

I'm tired of drunks especially drunk drivers. I'm fed up with car jackings, theft , home invasions. Don't mind seeing a black jack used on low life , maybe some of this KRAP would stop. Everyone knows some one who knows some innocent person who was mistreated by law enforcement. Very seldom I'll bet . Hasbeen

I thought the court gets to determine who is a low life and what punishment is issued?

The problem with that mindset is that, to a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If you give hammers free reign to drive nails, a few thumbs will get smashed along the way. That seems ok until you become the thumb.

I would only guess that this policeman wishes he hadn't got caught being judge, jury, and executioner, well at least on the video.

Times change not always for the best. Crooks fear nothing, prison is a country club, the cops have to be nice after all they're on camera. When I was a young man, the cops were tough. But then again you didn't have child molesters in every neighborhood & children being abducted everyday. What has changed? I think it's the courts and the dogooders. Hasbeen

Well said.

The guy in the video was a nail for spitting at a person.

He didn't spit at anyone. What the cop said while beating the crap out of him was typical cover for cops who want to beat the crap out of someone. Only problem this time was that he didn't realize he was being videotaped.

It's like "SIR, PLEASE STOP RESISTING ARREST ... PLEASE STOP RESISTING ARREST .." as he's beating the crud out of a non-resisting victim. It's standard practice for cops.

No, not all cops, but those that don't do it will usually laugh or look the other way when someone else is.

oh crap. well, he didnt spit. Still got the hammer.

Careful Hasbeen your bring up the old days that so many around here talk so great about.

My partner retired the end of October after 41 years you should have heard his stories about how brutal policing was back then. Trust me policing is much kinder and gentler now days.

we could save a lot of time and money, if we just let Judge Dredd handle all the low lifes, right?

Who do you think are preying on society. Criminals or law enforcement. I'm saying Joe Arpiao is my kind of cop. Hasbeen

You still don't understand. It's all fine and good with you as long as he is beating on those you consider the bad guys. Then one day he sees you doing something wrong, you try to explain it's all just a big mistake, but he beats the hell out of you for your trouble.

Arpiao's wrath is visited on those who've already had their day in court and had been found guilty by a jury of their peers.

Exactly