Baltimore officer suspended after

punching incident recorded

BALTIMORE (AP) — A Baltimore police officer was suspended Saturday after a video surfaced online showing him repeatedly punching a man and knocking him down over steps on a sidewalk in a recording that lasts about 30 seconds and the city’s interim police commissioner said “deeply disturbed” him.

The video begins with the officer standing in front of a black man who has his back to a wall. The officer, who is also black, can be seen shoving the man in the chest before the officer starts throwing punches. The man tries to block punches from the officer but doesn’t appear to fight back. The man is pushed over some steps by the officer who continues to throw punches, and the video ends with the officer on top of him.

“I’m deeply disturbed by the video that surfaced online earlier today,” interim Police Commissioner Garry Tuggle said in a statement. “The officer involved has been suspended while we investigate the totality of this incident. Part of our investigation will be reviewing body worn camera footage.”

Manslaughter charge in fatal beating

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man has been beaten to death in New Orleans after stealing another man’s wallet, and the wallet’s owner now faces a manslaughter charge.

The New Orleans Advocate reports that 31-year Simon Morris was arrested in the death of a man identified only as Edwin.

Police said Edwin approached Morris and asked him for a dollar outside a gas station Friday morning, but then snatched the wallet from Morris’s back pocket. Morris chased and caught Edwin.

Police said Edwin was severely beaten and kicked for at least five minutes despite efforts by others to intervene. Edwin died later at a hospital.

A manslaughter conviction can result in no prison time or up to 40 years.

Records indicate Morris remained jailed Saturday. No information was immediately available on his attorney.