On CNN Wednesday night, Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford tried to explain how the now-viral video of police brutality in Birmingham escaped the attention of the city’s top brass for more than a year.

At first Langford seemed to be trying to explain that he and Chief A.C. Roper had only recently taken office when the beating occurred. But half-way through his explanation, Langford gets tangled and says the event occurred under the previous administration.

“I was elected in November of last year. I took office in late November. I had been in office about a month. The new police chief we have now didn’t come on until a month after I took office. So neither one of us — It was under the previous administration.”

Langford was elected on Oct. 9, 2007, not in November 2008. He was sworn in as mayor on November 13, 2007. A week before Langford took office, he named A.C. Roper to replace then-Chief of Police Annetta Nunn. Roper was sworn in as chief of police two weeks after Langford took office, Nov. 30, 2007. The police beating occurred Jan. 23, 2008, more than two months after Langford took office.