Two cops have been fired after being filmed brutally beating a suspect then doing a celebratory chest bump.
The shocking footage shows the officers holding the man down, punching him and kicking him in the head more than a dozen times.
As he lies motionless on the concrete the officers move away - and bump each other in the sick celebration.
Suspect Nicholas Blume had only been stopped for a traffic violation at the time in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he was beaten up.
Officers John Doyle and Robert Woolever have now been fired from New Mexico’s police force, which has recently been criticised over its high number of police shootings.
A special prosecutor is also reviewing the February 13 incident and will decide if the two will face criminal charges
The footage disgusted Albuquerque's mayor Richard Berry who said he 'expects some answers'.
The video was taken in the parking garage in the Barcelona Hotel in Albuquerque and shows Blume lying on the floor being punched in the head by Woolever, who is straddling his body.
Doyle then appears and kicks Blume repeatedly in the head as he lies pinned down on the floor, unable to defend himself.
At the end of the tape on the right hand side the two cops can be seen doing the chest bump.
Pictures taken when Blume was booked in show his head and face was left bloodied and bruised by the beating.
In an apparent attempt to cover his tracks, Doyle later wrote in his notebook that he was afraid Blume had a gun on him and needed to be restrained.
The footage was only released after a Freedom of Information request by the Albuquerque Journal - but the first version did not include the chest bump.
Instead it finished after the kicking and did not show the end, where the cops congratulate each other.
The release comes amid recent calls for a Justice Department probe of the Albuquerque police department, which has faced criticism for 20 officer-involved shootings and other questionable behaviour among officers.
Blume was indicted in state District Court on charges of auto theft, receiving a stolen firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.
He is facing additional charges in state and federal court that stem from other incidents.
I have viewed the video hundreds of time...I saw no "chest bump". Also, picture of Blume shows road rash from striking face on concrete after being tackled. Kicks were from the knee not from hip...suspect was taken to ER and released immediately...several kicks to the head would have hospitalized suspect for several days. Suspect was more than a car thief..warrants include Assault with Deadly Weapon, Murder of a police officer, Battery, domestic violence, burglary with weapon, armed robbery, and a weapon was found in the stolen pickup he wrecked. No baton was used...typical media distortion and I expected more from this blog!
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