Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

VIDEO: NYPD Officer Investigated For Punching Teen, Police Say

By  Lisha Arino and Murray Weiss | December 19, 2014 5:51pm 

Police Investigate After Video of Boy Punched After Arrest Surfaces
View Full Caption
YouTube/American Newsx

LOWER EAST SIDE — An NYPD officer caught on tape repeatedly punching a teen during an arrest was suspended while the Internal Affairs Bureau investigates the incident, police said.

The video shows three uniformed police officers pressing the 16 years old boy against the car while they arrest him. Less than a minute into the video, a plain-clothes officer — dressed in a camouflage jacket — runs up to the group and punches the teen three times.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop it! Get off of him!" yelled a woman off-screen.

"Why did you just do this?" another exclaimed in disbelief. "I can't believe you just did this."

NBC New York first reported the officer's suspension.

The teen was arrested for the assault on a 20-year-old man at 218 Madison St. at around 4:15 p.m. on Dec. 15, police said.

Officers canvassed the area and found the teen, along with two others on East Broadway, according to the NYPD. All three had prior arrests and gang affiliations, police said.

The young man, who was not identified, was charged with gang assault, obstructing government administration, resisting arrest and weapons possession, police said.

The video has more than 300,000 views since it was uploaded on YouTube on Thursday with a caption saying that the young man in the video was 12 years old.