PBA President Fumes After Suspect Seen On Video Putting NYPD Officer In Headlock Is Not Charged
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Cellphone video has surfaced showing an NYPD officer being put in a headlock by a man he was attempting to arrest in the Bronx.
The suspect in that video has not yet been charged by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported Sunday.
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It all started over a car being illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant on Morris Avenue back on July 1.
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The NYPD said officers asked 31-year-old Franklin Adrian to move his car multiple times. When he refused, two officers placed him under arrest, but he resisted.
There were many onlookers and the NYPD said one of them, 29-year-old Wisnel Manzueta, refused to step back.
When police tried to take him into custody, as a video on social media purports to show, Manzueta punches the officer and puts him in a headlock.
The NYPD said the officer suffered abrasions and lacerations to the face and head.
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Darrin Porcher, a former NYPD lieutenant, is a criminal justice professor at Pace University.
"It really sends chills down my spine. If a person impedes that zone of safety then they in effect place that officer in danger," Porcher said.
A spokesperson for the Bronx district attorney said Manzueta turned himself in Wednesday and gave detectives video of the incident.
Manzueta also complained of injuries from the incident and was taken to a hospital.
Police had recommended he be charged with second-degree assault, but a spokesperson for the Bronx district attorney said right now the case has been deferred for more investigation.
"It really sets forth a dangerous precedence where civilians may feel they can act with impunity," Porcher said.
The incident comes at a time when police officers in New York state can now be arrested under a new law for placing a suspect in a chokehold, and legislation awaits Mayor Bill de Blasio's signature that will criminalize other restraint methods.
"We have to give people confidence that policing will be fair and I'm convinced this legislation will do it and I will be signing it," de Blasio said back on June 18.
Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, spoke about the incident on Sunday.
"Our city needs to wake up to the fact that our leaders have surrendered the streets to chaos. This was a near-riot situation where a cop is fighting for his life, and somehow his attacker was allowed to go free," Lynch said. "We expect the Bronx DA to review the case and bring real charges, carrying real penalties, forthwith. If that doesn't happen, we should just run up the white flag and admit that the criminals are in charge."
The NYPD said it is also disappointed that Manzueta hasn't been charged and is having conversations with the Bronx DA about the case.
