Yesterday (Sept. 1), Mayor Eric Adams defended the actions of the NYPD after footage from earlier this week showed an officer forcefully striking a woman. The altercation happened on Tuesday (Aug. 30) on West 136th Street near Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. Video footage showed a woman being punched in the face by a male cop in broad daylight in front of a crowd.
While delivering a press briefing yesterday, Mayor Adams said his officers exhibited “great restraint” in the situation. “We had a person wanted for attempted murder — attempted murder. Police officers found him. He was armed with a ghost gun in his belt,” he said in Queens. The mayor continued, “Those officers showed great restraint, they didn’t discharge their weapons, they subdued him.”
A 19-year-old bystander named Tamani Crum tried to stop Detective Kendo Kinsey from arresting a suspect by assaulting the cop. “The young lady came, smacked a police officer, the police officer responded,” Mayor Adams shared. He added, “I think those officers on the scene showed great restraint. They did what the system called for. They didn’t turn off their body cameras; that’s why we have footage of what happened.”
Mayor Adams continued with his support of his officers. “Let’s be clear, they were arresting a person who was being pursued for attempted murder, he was armed with a ghost gun. And people got in and interrupted while police were taking action. That just can’t happen,” he said. On Aug. 31, Crum appeared at an arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Police Accountability Unit and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau are investigating the situation.
When the footage leaked, most were appalled at the officer’s actions. However, after it was revealed that Crum was interfering with a murder suspect’s arrest, most seemed to agree with Mayor Adams. “Next time, Tamani Crum, don’t get involved with an arrest that you have nothing to do with. You might want to also avoid assaulting a law enforcement officer,” a tweet read.