Hutchinson police are trying to determine if three officers used excessive force on a suspect after video surfaced of his arrest.
A police car videotape shows the arrest of Anthony White, 39, in his driveway on March 9, 2008. He was stopped for driving under the influence after he wrecked his motorcycle.
The video shows White being taken and held down by officers Bryan Rodriguez and Scott Perry, who left the department in August. Sgt. David Miller is then seen entering the garage.
"He dropped down and started kicking him," White's wife, Lisa White, said of Miller. She heard the commotion in the garage and came outside to see what was happening. "And he continued it and continued it and continued it."
Anthony White obtained the video from his attorney, who received it as evidence during the municipal court proceedings in the DUI case. White made it available to The Hutchinson News after attempts to find an attorney to represent him in a possible civil suit were unsuccessful.
The newspaper then showed it to police.
"This is the first time I've seen this," Hutchinson Police Capt. Troy Hoover said Wednesday. Hoover then began making calls to initiate an internal review of the situation.
"Although the video is initially very disturbing to watch, I don't want to make a judgment of what was going on based on what you can see in a dimly lit garage," Hoover said. "But it certainly is worthy of investigation."
Anthony White said he doesn't remember being kicked but he remembers being on the ground and hearing one of the officers tell the other to "choke him out" before briefly losing consciousness. What he next remembers, White said, is being lifted from the garage floor and seeing a puddle of blood on the cement below.
White eventually was taken out of the garage in handcuffs, bleeding from a cut above his right eye. He was arrested for DUI, obstruction and refusal to submit to a breath test, and taken to the hospital.
White pleaded guilty to the DUI charge, and the other charges were dismissed. He was sentenced to two days in jail, five days' house arrest, one year of probation and a $1,000 fine.
Lisa White said when she first saw the situation she was dumbfounded.
"I thought, 'Who did he kill?' " Lisa White said. "They don't just do that. All I know is the cops are in my garage, beating the hell out of my husband, and I had no idea why."
When she was informed that police had been responding to a report of an accident and the arrest was for DUI, she was even more confused.
"When I was told it's a possible DUI, this doesn't make sense," Lisa White said.
She said her husband was not struggling or yelling back at officers. In fact, while he was on the ground, he did not appear to be moving.
On Friday, Hoover said he expected the investigators will have turned in a report to him and Police Chief Dick Heitschmidt by Monday.
If an officer is found to have used unnecessary force with a suspect, "that is something I just won't tolerate, and I know the chief won't either," Hoover said.
A police car videotape shows the arrest of Anthony White, 39, in his driveway on March 9, 2008. He was stopped for driving under the influence after he wrecked his motorcycle.
The video shows White being taken and held down by officers Bryan Rodriguez and Scott Perry, who left the department in August. Sgt. David Miller is then seen entering the garage.
"He dropped down and started kicking him," White's wife, Lisa White, said of Miller. She heard the commotion in the garage and came outside to see what was happening. "And he continued it and continued it and continued it."
Anthony White obtained the video from his attorney, who received it as evidence during the municipal court proceedings in the DUI case. White made it available to The Hutchinson News after attempts to find an attorney to represent him in a possible civil suit were unsuccessful.
The newspaper then showed it to police.
"This is the first time I've seen this," Hutchinson Police Capt. Troy Hoover said Wednesday. Hoover then began making calls to initiate an internal review of the situation.
"Although the video is initially very disturbing to watch, I don't want to make a judgment of what was going on based on what you can see in a dimly lit garage," Hoover said. "But it certainly is worthy of investigation."
Anthony White said he doesn't remember being kicked but he remembers being on the ground and hearing one of the officers tell the other to "choke him out" before briefly losing consciousness. What he next remembers, White said, is being lifted from the garage floor and seeing a puddle of blood on the cement below.
White eventually was taken out of the garage in handcuffs, bleeding from a cut above his right eye. He was arrested for DUI, obstruction and refusal to submit to a breath test, and taken to the hospital.
White pleaded guilty to the DUI charge, and the other charges were dismissed. He was sentenced to two days in jail, five days' house arrest, one year of probation and a $1,000 fine.
Lisa White said when she first saw the situation she was dumbfounded.
"I thought, 'Who did he kill?' " Lisa White said. "They don't just do that. All I know is the cops are in my garage, beating the hell out of my husband, and I had no idea why."
When she was informed that police had been responding to a report of an accident and the arrest was for DUI, she was even more confused.
"When I was told it's a possible DUI, this doesn't make sense," Lisa White said.
She said her husband was not struggling or yelling back at officers. In fact, while he was on the ground, he did not appear to be moving.
On Friday, Hoover said he expected the investigators will have turned in a report to him and Police Chief Dick Heitschmidt by Monday.
If an officer is found to have used unnecessary force with a suspect, "that is something I just won't tolerate, and I know the chief won't either," Hoover said.
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