Police Officers Charged With Beating, Cover-up
WHITFIELD: Two Philadelphia police officers have been charged with brutalizing a man and claiming that he attacked them. Nick Valencia joins me with the surveillance video that is the key in this case against the cops.</s>NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If not for the quick thinking of the girlfriend, he may never have had his chance at redemption. He set a $200,000 lawsuit with the city of Philadelphia and his lawyer says Rivera's name is now clear.</s>VALENCIA (voice-over): Vindicated by video, nearly two years after he was brutally be beaten by police, 23-year-old Naji Rivera received a slice of justice. The two cops involved in his assault indicted by a grand jury and arrested this week charged with police brutality.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eye was beaten and swollen shut. There was a broken nose. There were approximately 20 staples to the top of his head from having his head split open.</s>VALENCIA: It was May 29th, 2013, when veteran officers Sean McKnight and Kevin Robinson said Rivera resisted arrest after they said he ran a stop sign in his scooter. In an initial police report, the officer said, Rivera, quote, "attempted to flee on foot after being pulled over." According to the officers, Rivera then slammed an officer against a brick wall before throwing elbows at an officer during the struggle. Officer Robinson was even said to have suffered minor pain. But after watching surveillance video from the incident, a grand jury determined the officers' story was a lie.</s>SETH WILLIAMS, PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The video undermined every, every aspect of the officers' account of the incident. Another officer arrived at the scene and thought Mr. Rivera had been shot since there was so much blood on the ground.</s>VALENCIA: It was Rivera's girlfriend who found the video, the result of knocking on local businesses where the assault happened to see if it had been caught on tape.</s>COMMISSIONER CHARLES RAMSEY, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: It is painful, it is embarrassing. It does bring a lot of issues you see across the country. We have 6,500 sworn members, these guys to not represent the majority of police officers.</s>VALENCIA: The district attorney has dropped all charges against Rivera. His attorney says Rivera knew this day would come.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's unfortunate, you know, for the police department as a whole. They're all a pretty good bunch of professionals. We try to protect everybody in Philadelphia, and they have got a tough job to do. It's a sad thing this particular incident occurred.</s>VALENCIA: Now both McKnight and Robinson have been suspended from the department for 30 days with the intent for dismissal. They were in jail briefly and posted bond so they are out awaiting their trial. We did get in touch with the two attorneys and I want to read Kevin Robinson's attorney's statement to CNN. He said, "Robinson was a well-respected and dedicated member of the Philadelphia Police Department for the past seven years. He looks forward to clearing his name and getting back to protecting and serving the citizens of Philadelphia." Sean McKnight's attorney, McKnight is a good cop who risks his life every day when suspects flee. They create risks for themselves, for the public and for the officers who bravely pursue them. We look forward to the trial. Both of these officers, Fredricka, standing by their actions saying they want their day in court.</s>WHITFIELD: Even with that videotape which is hard to watch.</s>VALENCIA: It is. And also, when you look at that police report, they wrote in there that they approached this suspect, Rivera, with their lights on. And it's clear in that video, you saw at home or wherever you're watching, those lights were not on the car. They actually knocked him over with the car showing that tape. And if not for his girlfriend, Rivera --</s>WHITFIELD: She went door to door in that area looking for anyone who had surveillance video, and here it is.</s>VALENCIA: Caught on tape.</s>WHITFIELD: Nick Valencia, thank you so much.</s>VALENCIA: Thanks.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, exactly what happened on Brian Williams' helicopter convoy in Iraq 12 years ago? NBC is now investigating after Williams recanted his war stories. And CNN has been doing our own digging and we'll tell you what we found, straight ahead.