Police violence

Apologies for completely forgetting about this task, but as they say, better late than never, so here goes.

Well, I guess this entry won't be a very cheery one, but it's certainly interesting and thought provoking, might even lead to a heated debate. Or at least it did on a forum I regularly visit.

Here's the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtgRAr4wnFQ

I thought it was pretty crazy. I personally think the kick was definitely not deserved, especially after the man decided to surrender. Most people defending the cop are saying that it's alright because he's a police officer - that the criminal was already running from the police, so he deserves whatever the cops decide to do. I strongly disagree with this, and I've no idea how anyone can justify what this police officer did. I highly doubt this is supposed to be part of his job, and the high-five afterwards makes it even more disgusting.

So yeah, that's the gist of it. Can police brutality ever be justified? I guess it also depends on the situation, but just because someone is wearing a uniform, it doesn't change the fact that he's beating up someone who isn't resisting or fighting back. All it does is bring him down to the criminal's level.