2 NYPD Officers Under Investigation After Video Shows Them Punching, Hitting Suspect With Gun
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Security video that captured the arrest of a teen drug suspect on a Brooklyn sidewalk has prompted an investigation of alleged abuse by two police officers.
The New York Police Department said Tuesday that one of the officers has been suspended without pay and the other put on desk duty pending an outcome of the probe.
And as CBS 2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, the video was released on the same day that the family of Eric Garner, the man who died after being placed in a police chokehold on Staten Island in July, filed a $75 million lawsuit against the city and the NYPD.
The latest video was posted on DNAinfo Tuesday, and was reportedly taken in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It shows a 16-year-old marijuana suspect running away from the officers on Aug. 29.
One officer catches up to the teen and punches him in the face. The suspect is seen raising his hands and backing away as a second officer appears to hit him with his pistol.
The teen's attorney, Amy Rameau, said she was "absolutely horrified," and claimed that the officers "assaulted" her client.
"What they did to my client was not at all justifiable," the teen's attorney, Amy Rameau, told 1010 WINS. "My client was bleeding from the mouth after this assault. He was bleeding from the mouth and begging these officers for medical attention and he was denied medical attention."
She added that the weapon one of the officers appeared to hit the teen with could have gone off in the boy's face and injured him or people walking by.
Rameau said the Brooklyn District Attorney's office has been investigating the case.
"I'm hoping that they will prosecute these officers for what they did," Rameau said. "When that officer hit my client in the face with that weapon, that constitutes an assault in the second degree, that's a felony assault."
She said the teen suffered broken teeth, injuries to the inside of his mouth, and swelling. And he is petrified, the attorney said.
"He's a kid," Rameau said. "He's afraid these cops are going to come back for him and hurt him some more. He's very much afraid."
Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson was brought to the case after the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau sent him the video.
"What's depicted on this video is troubling and warrants a thorough investigation," Thompson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Last week, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton signaled that he wants to remove NYPD officers who abuse their authority and tarnish his vision for a more tolerant force.
"I think the commissioner has set a very clear standard," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday after being briefed on the video. "When the commissioner sees something that he thinks is inappropriate, he acts very quickly."
But Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said the video does not tell the whole story.
"It doesn't tell what the police officer saw or raised their suspicion," Lynch said. "They leave out the fact that there was a foot pursuit where police officers had to chase this individual as he threw something down. That's a dangerous situation for police officers."
Police said the suspect also has a prior record.
On Aug. 1, he was arrested for the alleged sale and possession of marijuana. The marijuana bust that appears in the tape happened on Aug. 29, and two days later on Aug. 31, the teen was arrested for allegedly gambling on the street and criminal possession of a loaded gun.
Police claimed the boy tossed the weapon as he ran away.
The footage is the latest video to emerge allegedly showing physical confrontations between police officers and civilians.
In particular, the NYPD has been grappling with the fallout Eric Garner's death. The 43-year-old father of six, died after he had been stopped by police for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
In cellphone video of the incident, an officer is seen placing his arm around Garner's neck and then taking him to the ground after Garner refuses to be handcuffed.
Garner is heard saying repeatedly, "I can't breathe!"
The NYPD has also been criticized over officers' handling of two recent incidents in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Last month, video surfaced of a cop throwing a pregnant woman onto the ground. The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the incident.
And another police officer was caught on video kicking a fruit vendor while police were holding him on the ground. The officer was suspended.
The mayor said the proliferation of videos recording police activity is providing more concrete evidence on what occurs.
"I see these videos as another piece of information that we need to use to improve the relationship between police and community, and in many cases to heal the relationship between police and community," de Blasio said.
He vows a more active and responsive Civilian Complaint Review Board that will be fair to both civilians and officers.
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