Jury watches handcuffed Iraq War Vet being beaten

Jury watches video of Housing Officer David London bashing handcuffed Iraq war veteran
BY Oren Yaniv
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Saturday, June 19th 2010, 4:00 AM


Nobody disputes that the disturbing surveillance video screened for a Manhattan criminal jury Friday shows a housing cop bashing an Iraq war veteran with his baton.

The question is whether Housing Officer David London, 45, was committing an act of police brutality or using necessary force to subdue an aggressive suspect.

Prosecutors called London's beating of 28-year-old Walter Harvin in July 2008 an assault that the cop tried to cover up. But the defense insisted London's response was appropriate.

In the video, captured on security cameras at the upper West Side housing project where Harvin's mother lived, Harvin is seen shoving and scuffling with London, who then beat the ex-soldier even after he was cuffed.



Read more: Jury watches video of Housing Officer