Yet another New York City cop has been stripped of his gun and placed on modified desk duty. Officer David London, 43, was stripped of his gun and badge Monday and placed on desk duty as the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau investigated the July 18 incident. According to the NY Daily News, London was caught on tape beating a handcuffed Army vet paused to take a phone call and then went right back to smashing the man with his baton.

London and his partner stopped Harvin, 28, as he tried to enter the DeHostos Apartment on W. 93rd St., where Harvin's mother lives, about 1:15 a.m. "I told him don't close it because I don't have the keys," said Harvin, a vet who was discharged in 2004 for post traumatic stress disorder. "As I walked into the elevator he grabbed my arm. That's when I pushed him," Harvin said. "I was on the floor and he kept beating me with the stick. He sprayed me with Mace. While I was on the floor, he handcuffed me. I don't remember too much about it."

Security video from the building showed London beating Harvin after he was cuffed and on the ground, a source said. Why did he beat the man after he was handcuffed and on the ground? That makes no sense.

According to media reports, as London and his partner propped the handcuffed war vet up against a wall, London's cell phone rang, sources said. Video showed London talking on the phone for 90 seconds before he resumed beating Harvin, sources said. London told colleagues Harvin went berserk when he was asked to show identification or proof he was entitled to be in the building.

Harvin started punching and kicking the cops, screaming, "You can't take me!" court papers say. Harvin said he didn't remember much of what happened once the beating started. He was charged with assault and resisting arrest and was released pending a hearing.

This is a very troubling trend that is emerging in New York City and comes on the heels of incidents involving rookie cop Patrick Pogan bodychecking a cyclist and Maurice Harrington videotaped beating another man. The Police Commissioner had better put his boys in check before lawsuits start flying if it is found that these cops acted with excessive force.

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