Californian sheriff suspends 10 officers over beating of horseman

By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Californian sheriff has suspended 10 officers involved in the videotaped beating of a suspect who appeared to have surrendered and was lying on the ground after making a failed getaway attempt on horseback. John McMahon, sheriff of San Bernardino County, said at a news conference on Friday he was "disturbed and troubled" by what he saw in the footage, shot from a KNBC-TV news helipcopter on Thursday near the town of Apple Valley, east of Los Angeles. "It appears to be excessive to me based on what I saw in the video," he said of the force used in restraining the suspect, Francis Pusok, 30, after the man had already been shot by a Taser stun gun and was splayed face down on the ground. Ten officers involved in the beating of Pusok have been placed on paid administrative leave pending a special investigation of the incident, the sheriff said.

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