US police officers filmed beating suspect

Black activists today called for the firing of police officers who were shown on live television swinging night sticks and punching and kicking a suspect after a car chase in St Louis, USA.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol was investigating to see if the four officers involved had acted illegally.

The suspect, Edmon Burns, 33, was treated at a hospital, then jailed. No charges had been filed.

Burns and one of the four officers, from St Louis, are black, the three other officers, from suburban Maplewood, are white.

Much of the chase was shown on live television shot from a WTVI-TV helicopter, along with the officers apparently beating the man for several seconds.

What could not be clearly seen on the video was how much the suspect was resisting.

Maplewood Police Chief James White cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

“The question is, is the force appropriate for the situation?” White said at a news conference.

“Is it appropriate for the resistance? I don’t know any of that.”