Bronx man says NYPD violently beat him up at Dominican Day Parade
NEW YORK - A man from the Bronx is speaking out after he said he was violently beaten up by New York City police officers last Sunday at the Dominican Day Parade.
Video shows NYPD officers punching Arnardo Vargas Jr.
Arnardo Vargas Jr. said it all started when a police officer from the 44th Precinct asked him and his friends to move from a certain part of the street. He said they complied, but that's when the situation escalated.
"From that point on, I see the look in his eyes and he just kept on going, and I heard him say something 'get him' and then from that point on, I just see people grabbing my head and started punching me," said Vargas.
Video shows the 25-year-old being repeatedly punched on all sides of him by a handful of NYPD officers.
In the video, Vargas was surrounded with officers on top of him as they tried to arrest him, as people flooded the streets on 166th Street and River Avenue.
The NYPD tells CBS New York Vargas refused lawful orders from officers to disperse and was charged with resisting arrest, obstructing government administrations, and disorderly conduct. It is unclear if the officers involved are being investigated for excessive use of force, but police say they are not commenting further at this time.
"One of the worst days of my life"
"It was supposed to be a good day, a nice calm day, but it turned into probably one of the worst days of my life," Vargas said at a news conference outside the 44th Precinct Friday.
"Our people do not deserve this brutality. It is not wrong for a Dominican person to go and celebrate their proud heritage," said Chivona Newsome, of Black Lives Matter Greater New York.
"He was attacked, punched in his head 13 times, and suffered a concussion," said Hawk Newsome, of Black Lives Matter Greater New York.
"This young man is standing before you, shaken, unable to make eye contact because the 44th Precinct stole his dignity," Chivona Newsome said.
Black Lives Matter of Greater New York is seeking accountability for the officers involved.
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