Violent arrest raises questions in Kensington

KENSINGTON - June 6, 2012 (WPVI) -- A violent arrest by Philadelphia Police caught on camera in Kensington is sparking allegations of police brutality from the suspect's parents.

"He didn't kill anybody, he didn't rob anybody, he didn't have any drugs. What's the reason to beat him like that?" said Marcus Warryton's mother, Sophia Singleton.

Sophia Singleton says there is simply no justification for the way her son was treated by police.

Cell phone video shows the violent arrest involving Marcus Warryton of Kensington.

Moments earlier, the 18-year-old allegedly resisted arrest after walking away from a traffic accident he was involved in.

The video captured the scene as officers held Warryton against a squad car near a church at the corner of Paul and Ruan Streets.

He appears to resist as more officers respond to the scene.

He is then taken to the ground and hit repeatedly with a baton, while another officer uses his foot to pin Warryton's head to the sidewalk.

Four of the officers involved are now on desk duty pending an internal affairs investigation.

But Warryton's mother and father say that's simply not good enough.

"They don't need to be on desk duty. They need to be home not collecting our tax dollars - because I work for a living - not collecting our tax dollars for beating my children," said Marcus Warryton, Sr.

"I'm not going to let it rest until something is done about it," said Sophia Singleton.

But Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says the video picks up the action after the suspect reportedly grabbed one of the officers in a head-lock, and may have been reaching for his gun.

Ramsey says the internal investigation is not done yet. But he says so far, from what he has seen, the officers followed proper protocol.

"Clearly when you look at the video there was resisting in the early stages and the officers were in quite a struggle. Sometimes police work isn't necessarily pretty because trying to bring someone into custody, not everybody wants to come willingly," said Ramsey.

Marcus's parents say they've already made plans to hire an attorney. Meantime their son remains behind bars on $150,000 bail.

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philadelphia, police, kensington, philadelphia police, local/state, walter perez

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