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YouTube Beat Down: Toledo Cops Say Teen Provoked Them

The latest video to hit YouTube is hard to view. It features a 14-year old boy being restrained by two burly police officers. You can hear him groan while his sister tries to tell the police to stop.

The boy is Trevor Casey from Toledo. The incident, which occurred on May 15, left him with a bloody, swollen face and a cut lip. The video clearly shows the officers subduing the 155-pound boy in a chokehold, while they attempted to put his hands behind his back.

Casey had been hanging outside of the Bradwhitlock Homes with three other friends when the officers approached him. When asked to leave, his friends complied, but Casey didn't. His family believes he didn't move fast enough and so the officers forcibly removed him.

"It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong," says Vincent Casey, Trevor's older brother. "They looked like they were going to suffocate him. By the time they put on the handcuffs, his body fell motionless to the ground."

Police tell a different story. According to the police report, Casey had been ordered to leave several times before Officer Byron Daniels, on the force for 16-years and Officer Andre Bills, a 22-year veteran, placed him against the police vehicle where Casey then allegedly tried to break free. The officers applied "joint pressure" and "body strikes" to Casey as well as open handed strikes to his face. The report goes on the say that Casey admitted to smoking marijuana prior to his encounter with them although an official drug test was never administered. He has not had any prior arrests.

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RT @essenceonline: YouTube Beat Down: Toledo Cops Say Teen Provoked Them YouTube Beat Down: Toledo Cops Say Teen Provoked Them @essenceonline
This is so sad, I hope this kid recovers and educate himself that one day those officers, their brothers and other family members will have to work under Trevor Casey, Inc. AND the role will be reversed... Sad to say but the officers should have keeled over and "PERISHED" on the spot... So sad of a story.
Posted at 6/02/2009 4:09 PM by Denise
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Even if this male had been sober, White American officers always find some excuse to use brutal force against African Americans. You know, White Americans should just admit what is really their issue and that is that they are just White racists and hate all African Americans.
Posted at 5/27/2009 1:16 PM by Anonymous
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The punk got what he asked for or maybe he thinks that because there is a black president,he is free to do what he pleases.Not yet punk,wait a few years,if your still alive.And yes I already know your mama is going to tell everyone who will listen what a great kid you are,never do anything wrong and your a brain in school.
Posted at 5/26/2009 1:27 AM by NOTPC
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People who say that the police are in the right for beating civilians senseless are the one of the dumbest types of people period. It's not confidence in the system. It's fear of the system. An officer of the law uses excessive force then some coward states that they were in the right. Having the audacity to use the already worn out speech that consists of "If a cop tells you to do something, then you do it." is very old. So, by making statements like that, it tells people that if an officer wants to abuse their power, we have to smile and accept it? Please. There are a lot of officers that are amazing at what they do and I want them all to succeed don't get me wrong, but to all the people that make excuses for the type of police that use excessive force, by all means, invite one over to your home and allow them to beat you to within an inch of death and see how you accept that. I mean after all, it's only cops doing their jobs right?
Posted at 5/25/2009 8:44 PM by david
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the knucklehead punk 14 yr old wanted to prove to his peers he was a tough guy. Guess what? He got what he deserved. Had he tried to do that up against gang members he would be dead now. Maybe his mother should do a better job of raising him and teaching respectAt no point in the article does it say that the boy was beaten to within an inch of his life--so, tosha, cut the drama. The officers were doing their job. They repeatedly ask him to leave--he made a decision not to do so. He suffered the consequences. Because of this, maybe, just maybe, the next group of smart-ass teenagers will think twice before they disobey authority. .
Posted at 5/25/2009 8:17 PM by Diller
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