SUNSET PARK — Activists will protest the actions of NYPD officers this weekend in the wake of two shocking videos that appear to show excessive use of force in Sunset Park.
More than 100 people are expected to attend an anti-police-brutality march on Saturday organized by local police watch group El Grito De Sunset Park, along with other community groups, that will lead from Fifth Avenue and 46th Street to the 72nd Precinct, organizers said.
The Saturday march will take place from noon to 2 p.m.
Protesters said the protest was sparked by a series of videos released that appear to show police using excessive force against civilians. Last week, officer Vincent Ciardiello was suspended from the department after being caught on camera kicking street vendor Jonathan Daza, 22, in the back during an altercation at a neighborhood street fair.
This week, another video was released that appears to show a pregnant woman being pushed during an arrest by NYPD officers.
The woman in the video, Sandra Amezquita, who is five months pregnant, claims she was slammed to the ground by the officer and struck with a baton that left her with bruises on her belly, her lawyer said.
The NYPD is investigating both videos, officials said. No action had been taken against the officers in Amezquita’s case as of Friday.
Representatives for Daza and Amezquita are expected to join the march, organizers said.
A town hall meeting is scheduled for Oct. 1 at the Sunset Park Recreation Center at 6:30 p.m. to further discuss community concerns.
But Dennis Flores, founder of El Grito De Sunset Park, said the NYPD needs to do more than schedule town hall meetings to address the problem — adding that only the threat of serious discipline will rein in rogue violence.
“Cops need to be fired,” Flores said. “Suspensions are not good enough.”
