2 NYPD Cops Arraigned In Alleged Beating Of Teen Suspect
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two New York City police officers were arraigned Wednesday after surrendering to face criminal charges for the alleged beating of a teenage drug suspect in Brooklyn.
Officer David Afanador is charged with felony assault, and Tyrane Isaac is charged with misdemeanor assault, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported. Both pleaded not guilty.
"We indicted these two police officers because of the violence they committed on a 16-year-old boy," Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson told CBS 2's Dick Brennan.
The incident, which was caught on surveillance video and posted on DNAinfo last month, stems from the alleged marijuana arrest of 16-year-old Kareem Tribble on Aug. 29.
2 NYPD Cops To Be Arraigned In Alleged Beating Of Teen Suspect
The video captured the teen running away from officers. It then shows one officer catching up to the teen and punching him in the face. Seconds later, the suspect is seen raising his hands and backing away as a second officer appears to hit him with his pistol.
Tribble's attorney said the teen suffered broken teeth and other mouth injuries and said it could have been a lot worse.
"These officers assaulted my client, one of them with the butt of a weapon," said attorney Amy Rameau. "They could have killed him, that gun could have gone off in my client's face injuring him or people walking by."
As 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported, Rameau said the incident amounted to police brutality, plain and simple.
"It should never come to this," she said. "This should not happen."
2 NYPD Cops To Be Arraigned In Alleged Beating Of Teen Suspect
But Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said the video doesn't tell the full story.
"It doesn't tell what the police officer saw or raised their suspicion," he 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."
PBA attorney Stephen Worth, who is representing the officers, agreed with Lynch's assessment.
"If you look at the video, he's a much larger individual, it's 2 in the morning, there is clearly a chase," Worth told Cornell. "By its definition, a chase is not complying with police officers. If a police officers says 'stop,' then the person should stop. That's not the case here. So that raises the officer's apprehension level as to what to expect."
Rameau wasn't buying the union's rationale.
"Kareem did absolutely nothing to deserve what they did to him. I'm not sure what they plan to come up with to try and justify something I don't think is at all justifiable. We'll see. I wouldn't be surprised at all. This is what they do," Rameau said.
Police said the suspect has a prior record.
On Aug. 1, he was arrested for the alleged sale and possession of marijuana. The bust that appeared on video 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.
Police also claimed Tribble tossed 17 small bags of marijuana before running from police during the Aug. 29 arrest, but the case was pleaded down to a violation.
The NYPD said last month that one of the officers was suspended without pay and the other put on desk duty after the incident.
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