Two Philly Cops Allegedly Attacked a Man and Then Framed Him for Assault
Two Philadelphia cops who allegedly beat a man senseless before arresting him for assault are now facing jail time themselves after the man's sister found surveillance footage of the attack.
Officers Sean McKnight, 30, and Kevin Robinson, 26, were fired this week and arrested after a grand jury determined they had attacked 23-year-old Najee Rivera in a 2013 incident.
At the time, the officers filled out a police report claiming they arrested Rivera after he resisted arrest, pushing them "into a brick wall" and throwing "multiple elbows" at them.
But after reviewing the tape, a grand jury saw things differently: "McKnight and Robinson knocked Rivera from his scooter and then repeatedly struck Rivera with a baton and fists causing bodily injury. At no time during the incident did Rivera attempt to assault either officer."
Rivera was driving a motor scooter in north Philadelphia at night when the police pulled him over. In his grand jury testimony, Rivera said that the officers got out of their car with their batons out and said "Come here!", so he got scared and began driving away.
The surveillance video showed the police car, without its lights or siren activated and not issuing any commands, hitting Rivera on his scooter and knocking him onto the ground, according to the grand jury presentation. This video then shows the officers getting out of the car and hitting Rivera with a baton, first while being held against a wall and then while he was on the ground.
Rivera, who was eventually arrested for aggravated assault and resisting arrest, settled with the city for $200,000 after his girlfriend found the surveillance footage of the attack.
