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Civil rights groups angry that officers won't face charges

Images of the arrest, caught on live TV
Images of the arrest, caught on live TV

By Maria Hickey, KWMU

St. Louis, MO. – Civil rights leaders are angry after the Justice Department decided not to charge four St. Louis-area officers who were captured on tape hitting and kicking a suspect last year.

The three Maplewood officers and one St. Louis officer were under federal investigation for the January 2006 arrest of Edmon Burns following a car chase.

The board of the St. Louis County NAACP plans to meet Thursday to discuss how to protest the decision

But University of Missouri St. Louis criminology professor David Klinger the TV tape of Burns' arrest is not the only evidence.

"What people who are concerned about this should demand if they want to go further, is to demand all the evidence," Klinger said. "Because it should be something that's out there in the public so everyone can take a look at it."

Klinger says testimony from the police officers, the suspect, and witnesses and physical evidence should all be considered.

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