Video has surfaced of a NYPD officer tasing and arresting a Black Lives Matter protester in Brooklyn on Sunday (July 12).
The incident took place during clashing anti-racist and pro-cop rallies. In the video, the cop pushes the protester, who is a Black man, while another officer attacks him. The protester then yells out, “Y’all see this?” as he is standing on the sidewalk. An officer then tases him and he falls to the ground. Four officers then arrest the man as he yells out, “You’re breaking my arm!”
City Councilman Justin Brannan retweeted the video of the incident and wrote, “I have reached out to @NYCMayor @NYPDnews and have asked for a full investigation.” Earlier he tweeted that he was “disturbed” by the violence displayed in the video and would be meeting with the 68th Precinct on Monday (July 13).
According to the New York Post, a NYPD spokeswoman said the department is “aware of the video” and “it is under review.” Police claim the protester, who is still awaiting charges, threw a helmet at one of the officers just moments before the surfaced cellphone footage begins.
Just last month, a NYPD officer was arrested and charged after he used a banned chokehold to detain Ricky Bellevue, a Black man, in Queens. Officer David Afanador, who has been suspended without pay, is now facing charges of strangulation and attempted strangulation.
Lori Zeno, Bellevue’s attorney, said Afanador should be fired and prosecuted. “It is important that we keep holding police officers accountable for their actions,” she said in a statement. “The officer involved here used a chokehold to strangle my client until he was unconscious, because according to the police officer, he was being disorderly.”
“He is the one who committed a crime in this circumstance,” the lawyer continued. “We will not stop until the people of Far Rockaway can feel safe as they travel through their own neighborhood. They should not fear the very people who are sworn to protect them.”
Watch the arrest in Brooklyn below.