Here’s a twist in the recent spate of videos showing NYPD officers assaulting suspects (of which at least four have surfaced in the last month): An undercover officer runs over to provide backup during a subway bust by delivering a swift kick to the head of a man on the ground, only to realize the guy he booted was his own colleague. Oops.
DNAinfo has the clip, shot sometime in January, showing two officers struggling with a suspect on the floor — his crime: jumping the turnstile — when another group rushes in to provide assistance. When the plainclothes officer with the big work-boots realizes who he struck on his way in, he rubs his fellow officer’s head to make sure he’s okay. Then he punches the actual suspect in the face:
“He kicked the cop,” says a woman offscreen, who can’t help but laugh.
Once the video was made public, the NYPD stripped the officer of his badge and gun, DNAinfo reports. Internal Affairs and Brooklyn D.A. Ken Thompson are now investigating. (Add it to the list.) “My office is working with Commissioner Bratton to ensure that every member of the community is treated with dignity and respect,” said Thompson.
