Late Tuesday morning, police in Vineland, New Jersey, killed 32-year-old Phillip White. Witness Ricardo Garcia described the incident:
“They punched him, stomped him, kicked him and then they let the dog out of the car,” said Ricardo Garcia. “The dog bit him on his face and around his body. There’s no call for that. Once a man is handcuffed and unconscious, you should have stuck him in the patrol car and take him to the police station. Instead they decided to beat him right here.”
Another eyewitness recalled what he saw:
“Agustin Ayala of Ayala Towing said he was driving down Grape Street in his tow truck when he saw two police cars on the street and two officers trying to handcuff a man…The two officers, including a K9 officer, handcuffed the suspect and brought him to the ground”, he said. “Ayala said he asked the officers to stop because he was concerned for the man’s welfare.”
Police have provided no real explanation for how something so awful happened to an unarmed man in their custody. The police chief, Timothy Codispoti, released a statement calling it a “tragedy.” He went on to say, “I ask that everyone allow time for our justice system to now investigate this matter to its truthful conclusion.”See the video of an eyewitness and hear some early police dispatch audio below.
