PATROL SHOULD PROBE ARREST

The Ozarks saw Springfield police arrest Tony Mann. On a video shot by a
free-lance photographer and broadcast on KYTV, Ozarkers saw police trying
to handcuff Mann. They saw him stand after being bitten by a police dog,
and they saw officers strike Mann at least five times.

Opinions quickly formed about whether the police used excessive force.
Those opinions will not easily be overcome by the internal-affairs
investigation that follows any use of force. No matter how professionally
the department's investigators conduct themselves, there still will be the
perception that foxes are guarding the chicken house.

If the arresting officers are cleared, it will be seen as a coverup by
those who saw something nefarious in the videotape.

That's why the department should ask the Missouri Highway Patrol to review
the city officers' actions.

And it emphasizes the need for a true Police Review Board, one with real
teeth and real credibility.

Mann's arrest was no simple affair. Police went to his home shortly before
9 p.m. Oct. 4 to question him. Police say Mann fired a shot at one officer,
then holed up for several hours. Mann's relatives told police he was on a
five-day methamphetamine binge.

Police will not - and should not - take chances with anyone who shoots at
them and has been using a drug that induces paranoia, irrationality and
tremendous strength.

Early on Oct. 5, Mann chose to surrender. The videotape shows Mann, wearing
only a towel, scooting under a fence toward officers. Police had him on the
ground and were trying to get him to lie on his stomach to handcuff him.
Mann resisted.

A dog, brought in to help officers, bit Mann. He screamed and rose to his
feet. As police tried to subdue him, one officer struck him at least five
times near his neck. Mann slumped and was handcuffed. A post-arrest
photograph shows bruises, cuts and swelling on his face.

An independent instructor say the officer who struck Mann was using a
widely taught tactic to stun the brachial nerve. It is designed not to injure.

The arrest raises a number of questions for investigators.

Did the officers react properly to a man who they say fired at them and
apparently was under the influence of meth, or did they go overboard? Did
the use of the dog help or make the situation worse? Was the brachial stun
tactic properly executed? How was Mann's face cut and bruised? Was that
justified?

We have little doubt the Police Department's internal-affairs unit can
properly answer these questions. But will a community that has seen the
videotape accept those answers, or see a case of friends protecting
friends? It's far better for the department to bring in outside
investigators less open to question.

Even that would be unnecessary if Springfield's Police Review Board had any
real power. The City Council gave it none, making the board little more
than window dressing. In the only instance when the board upheld a
citizen's complaint that had been dismissed by internal affairs, City
Manager Tom Finnie promptly overruled the board. It has no credibility,
because the council never intended to give it any.

A true review board could look at this arrest and give a full accounting to
the community, with no fear of being overruled. Because we don't have that
board, the only way to assure the community that police are acting properly
is to turn this investigation over to the Highway Patrol.