The Philadelphia police are facing brutality charges after a videotape showed them beating a man. The verdict is still out, says Temple criminal justice professor Jon Clark , coordinator of Temple's police academy. It doesn't look good, but, given the situation, some licks might have been legitimate. We saw police actually at work on that videotape. It wasn't the police work we normally see on television, where there is a script and everything is orderly.
Police work is messy.
The law regarding a fleeing felon is clear. The police have a right to subdue a felon when the suspect is dangerous. We have to let Police Commissioner John Timoney address them. Reach Clark at his office, 204-7930, or through the Office of News and Media Relations. This Week at Temple .