Brickbat: Ain't That a Kick in the Head

Officials in Orangeburg, South Carolina, have agreed to pay $650,000 to Clarence Gailyard, who was stomped on his head and neck by a city police officer. Gailyard was walking with a stick wrapped in tape that someone mistook for a firearm. That person called 911. Officer David Lance Dukes responded and ordered Gailyard to the ground. Gailyard, who walks with a cane and has pins and rods in one leg, did not comply quickly enough for Dukes, who stomped his head into the ground. Dukes was fired and later charged with felony assault and battery. The city has also apologized to Gailyard.