Charges Dropped Against Man Involved In Confrontation With Cops At Jewish Center
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office has dropped all criminal charges against a young man whose videotaped encounter with NYPD officers sparked a firestorm of criticism.
Ehud Halevy, 21, was seen on the video shirtless and apparently trying to avoid being led out of a Jewish center by responding officers.
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports
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"In our opinion, there was no legal basis for any of the criminal charges and we commend Charles Hynes and the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office for doing the right thing in this case. Justice was done here," Halevy's lawyer Norman Siegel told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond on Monday.
The confrontation happened inside the ALIYA Center on East New York Avenue in Crown Heights on Oct. 8. A spokesman for the center said despite Halevy having permission to sleep there in a lounge, a security guard called police.
Watch the video below:
The video shows Halevy being pummeled by two officers, with one cop landing more than 20 punches. His partner, a woman, joined in with a baton.
"The videotape dramatically demonstrates that our client did not assault the police officer. In fact, the video shows the police officers assaulting our client. The second they charge him with trespass and the Rabbi who runs the center said that he had permission to be there," Siegel told Diamond.
Halevy was charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana.
The NYPD and Brooklyn DA are conducting separate investigations of the officers' actions.
Siegel has asked the DA to bring charges against the two officers seen in the video. The male officer was placed on desk duty as the investigation proceeds.
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