A political science professor is calling for an internal affairs investigation into whether police used too much force against Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev .
Ruth O’Brien is on the faculty of the City University of New York. In a blog posting, O’Brien writes in part: “… the mortuary pictures of the older brother of the two are extremely disturbing, raising questions as to whether the Boston Police Department captured him with too much force … … Giving the worst criminal or terrorist the most dignity during captivity shows why we should not be feared as a nation and is the best antidote to terrorism. We accept difference, as a nation, and we should champion our greatest strength — inclusivity — at these extreme moments if we want the character of the United States not to be judged harshly by the global community. Once all the adrenaline subsides, I hope we will all be witnesses at t he Internal Affairs investigation about undue force .”
The Boston Marathon bombing suspects murdered three persons at the race finish line and injured approximately 200. They later killed one police officer and critically injured another during their escape attempt.
The Tsarnaevs were actually apprehended by the Watertown police rather than their Boston counterparts. That aside, according to various media accounts, the younger Tsarnaev drove a Mercedes SUV over his older brother when he was trying to escape. “Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot in an exchange of gunfire with police and run over by his younger brother early on Friday, police said. He later died at a hospital. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev fled on foot but was captured later that day following a massive manhunt.”
Prof. Ruth O’Brien has extensive liberal credentials and is a big Obama supporter.
Do you you think the police in any way used too much force in the Tsarnaev manhunt or did they respond appropriately given the danger?
Watch amateur video of the police gunbattles with the suspects:
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