Cell phone video posted online Sunday appeared to show an NYPD officer using a banned chokehold on a suspect during an arrest in Queens. The officer has since been suspended without pay.
According to WABC, the incident happened on ‘the boardwalk at 113th St. in Far Rockaway just before 9 a.m. Sunday after they say a man was harassing beachgoers and throwing things at them.’
Police say the man retrieved something from a trash can and threw it at officers before he was arrested.
The NYPD said in a statement, “We are aware of the video and there is an active investigation underway by the Internal Affairs Bureau. This matter is taken extremely seriously and we expect to have an update this evening as the investigation unfolds.”
After the witness video began circulating, the NYPD released bodycam footage of the incident.
DISTURBING NYPD VIDEO SURFACES: #NYPD statement "We are aware of the video and there is an active investigation underway by the Internal Affairs Bureau. This matter is taken extremely seriously and we expect to have an update this evening as the investigation unfolds” @NYPD100Pct pic.twitter.com/zMJdUrYqHO
— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) June 21, 2020
An attorney for the man, only identified as “Ricky,” said his client never lost consciousness but suffered bruises and a knot on his head.
It was unclear what charged were filed against the suspect.
