ACLU sued city on behalf of suspect to release video
By Randall Chase
Associated Press
DOVER, Del. (AP) - Police in Delaware have released dashcam video showing a white police officer kicking a black suspect in the face as he puts his hands on the ground. The officer was charged this week with assault.
Dover police released the August 2013 video Thursday after a federal judge ruled last week that it was no longer considered confidential. The judge's ruling came in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the suspect by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Recorded by another officer's dashboard camera, the video shows Dover Cpl. Thomas Webster IV kicking Lateef Dickerson after Dickerson gets down on his hands and knees in response to commands to get on the ground.
Dickerson, 30, was knocked unconscious and suffered a broken jaw, police said in a news release after Webster was charged.
Webster, 41, was arrested Monday and placed on unpaid leave after a grand jury indicted him for second-degree assault. A previous grand jury declined to indict Webster in March 2014, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, after reviewing the case, found no violation of Dickerson's civil rights.
The ACLU subsequently sued Dover police on Dickerson's behalf.
"We believe that the video demonstrates the need for large-scale reform of the Dover Police Department, specifically improvements to their use of force and internal affairs practices, and supervision of their officers," said Kathleen MacRae, executive director of the ACLU of Delaware.
Webster and a second officer encountered Dickerson while responding to a fight at a local service station possibly involving someone with a gun. Court records show that Dickerson has a long criminal history. He was arrested by Dover police last July after a traffic stop for expired tags and was charged with DUI and several weapons charges, including possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, carrying a concealed deadly weapon and receiving a stolen firearm.
Webster's attorney, James Liguori, said once the dashcam video from Webster's own patrol car and audio from the dispatch center come out, "everybody's going to be satisfied that no crime was committed."
"They've only seen half the movie."
Published: Mon, May 11, 2015
