Cell phone captures Philly arrest, now it's on the Web for all to judge

By CHRISTINE OLLEY
Philadelphia Daily News
Sep. 21, 2006

An arrest made in a raucous crowd outside an Old City nightclub in the wee hours of Saturday morning has been posted on YouTube's video-sharing website - creating quite a controversy.

In the video, entitled, "Philadelphia Police Brutality," police officers are shown trying to subdue members of the crowd as they began to gather in the street after leaving the club.

One clubgoer, whom police identified as Durwin Jones, 24, of Cranford Road near Berlin in Cherry Hill, N.J., is shown shoving a cop and being forcibly subdued.

Jones told NBC 10's Harry Hairston, "This has made me fearful of visiting Philadelphia, not because of crime, but because of what the police did to me."

Capt. Benjamin Naish, police spokesman, said, "What escalated this incident to the level seen on tape was the man was told he was under arrest and the officers were attempting to place him in handcuffs and he struggled, shoving the officer."

Another man, Calvin Yo, 24, was also arrested and charged with disorderly conduct stemming from what Naish referred to as a "previous altercation with Jones."

Even on YouTube, where viewers can share reactions to the posted videos, there are mixed reactions.

One commentator said, "Stop and think how you would respond if you were being gripped up by the cops, who were clearly intending to arrest you for doing nothing wrong.

"We have a right to stand up for ourselves. No man should have to succumb to arrest simply because the cops are deemed the all mighty end-all-and-be-all.

"No man should be beaten or abused in any way when they've done nothing to deserve it. I believe that is what the cops are supposed to be preventing, not enforcing!"

Another reviewer, with a completely different take on the implications of the 2-minute 46-seconds worth of video, wrote, "You said, 'No man should have to succumb to arrest simply because the cops are deemed the all mighty end-all-and-be all.'

"Actually you do, that's kind of the point of being under arrest. This guy was being detained, if not arrested, but decided 'he'd rather just go home.'

"Well, unfortunately you don't get the choice at that point in time. This is nothing out of the ordinary, it's on every weekend on Cops. Only because it was caught on a cellphone is why it is newsworthy."

Jones has been charged with aggravated and simple assault, resisting arrest and recklessly endangering another person.

Because of the use of force that was involved, "there will be a review of the incident by Internal Affairs," Naish said.