By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – African-American activists say they want criminal charges filed against the four police officers who beat a black suspect in St. Louis on Monday.
Video from TV news helicopters shows the policemen punching and kicking Edmon Burns, even after they had subdued him after a vehicle chase.
Three of the officers are from the Maplewood department. They are all white. The other policeman is black, and works for St. Louis city.
Zaki Baruti is with the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression. He said the St. Louis officer's race does not mitigate general police racism.
"The slave master always used some of our people to bring on pain and what have you," Baruti said. "That's a sad reality. But it's a reality and it's unfortunate."
Baruti says the St. Louis Board of Aldermen needs to establish a civilian police review board.
He says such a group could serve as a model for suburban departments.