Derby beatdown caught on video!

Festivals like Mardi Gras or the Kentucky Derby - where authorities used to be fairly lenient - are now mere shadows of their former selves, as their respective locales have cracked down on people daring to have a good time. You can even say the same of Cincinnati's Riverfest, though Riverfest was hardly that lax to begin with.

This happens for one reason: Some people in high places just absolutely cannot stand it when others have fun, no matter how harmless their fun is.

These crackdowns have gotten more and more severe.

But now this unfortunate attitude has been caught on video and posted on YouTube for countless viewers to see. And if there isn't at least a lawsuit, I'll eat my hat.

This happened at the recent Kentucky Derby:



This clip, shot at the infield of Churchill Downs, shows police arresting a man for allegedly being drunk. One of the cops repeatedly punches the man, even though he isn't resisting the arrest or doing anything violent. When the man is laying on the ground, the officer grinds his knee into the man's neck.

The cop repeatedly yells, "Quit fighting!" - even though the man wasn't fighting.

What excuse is the right-wing brain trust going to conjure to defend the police's behavior? The officer was caught red-handed, so their library of excuses has got to be getting pretty empty.

Somebody ought to be doing hard time. Not the allegedly drunken reveler - but the cop who punched him.

Then again, don't expect justice to prevail. We all remember the "Don't tase me, bro!" incident in which police were cleared despite their violent conduct being caught by numerous people with video cameras.

I'm also reminded of an incident about 15 years ago in my area in which the unprovoked police beating of a young man was caught on video. Outrageously, the victim of this attack was sentenced to a boot camp-style prison, even though he did nothing criminal.

To be fair, if someone alleges police brutality, you have to weigh both sides to see who is telling is truth. But when a cop is caught on video beating a man for no defensible reason, it's pretty damning evidence - no matter the lengths some will go to in order to deny it.

(Source: http://www.kypost.com/news/local/story/Derby-Beat-Down-Caught-On-Tape/3jQtfSNnvUCxZH0k1wemnA.cspx)