Sickening Video Of Cops Tasing And Dragging Prisoner By His Arms Released By City

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Dec 8, 2015 3:33PM

Following weeks of revelations and allegations about Chicago police abuses and misconduct, the city has released another disturbing video—this time, it shows a group of officer tasing a man in police lock-up and then dragging his limp body out of his cell by his arms.

The man is Philip Coleman, a 38-year-old black man who died while in police custody in December 2012. He was being held in jail after allegedly assaulting his mother during a psychotic episode, according to the Tribune. The video shows about six officers enter Coleman's cell as he lay on a cot and surround him. The video has no audio, but appears to depict the officers shooting him with a taser, and, about 2 minutes and 50 seconds in, dragging his limp body out of the cell.

According to reports, Coleman was brought to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead due to a bad reaction to an antipsychotic drug. But an autopsy report showed he suffered severe trauma including more than 50 bruises and abrasions on his body after the encounter with the officers.

Coleman's death was ruled an accident. Police guards said they were afraid for their safety, and an internal investigation found the officers had done nothing wrong.

The unexpected release of the video late Monday was followed by a statement from Mayor Rahm Emanuel condemning both the actions of the guards and the investigators who found them exculpable.

“I do not see how the manner in which Mr. Coleman was physically treated could possibly be acceptable,” he said in a statement. “While the Medical Examiner ruled that Mr. Coleman died accidentally as a result of treatment he received in the hospital, it does not excuse the way he was treated when he was in custody. Something is wrong here — either the actions of the officers who dragged Mr. Coleman, or the policies of the department.”