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Akeele Morgan: Black man, 25, strikes NYPD detective's head with stick in broad daylight but video could be FAKE

Akeele Morgan attacked the NYPD officer in broad daylight, before being arrested not far from the scene of the attack in Queens

QUEENS, NEW YORK CITY: A 25-year-old man has been arrested for assaulting an NYPD officer in broad daylight. Akeele Morgan, of the Bronx, was arrested on 39th Avenue, near Prince Street in Flushing, Queens, on Monday. He was seen hitting an unnamed detective on the head with a plastic stick, before running away. Responding to the video, many users on social media have claimed it is fake, slamming what they believe is a 'staged' scene. 

It is unclear as of now why Morgan attacked the officer. Morgan has now been charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. Morgan attacked the detective at around 11:50 am, when the officer was investigating another crime. 

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A video of the assault was first uploaded by the Detectives’ Endowment Association (DEA) on Twitter. The association tweeted, "Welcome to NYC! Even as our Detectives investigate crimes they’re attacked by emboldened criminals, who have quickly realized there are no consequences for law breakers in our city. The DEA is calling for this violence to be fully prosecuted as we look to file civil charges."

As the footage shows, the detective was facing a broken window when Morgan sneaks up behind him and hits him on the head. He then runs away and is chased by two other uniformed officers. The footage ends with a close-up of the officer, who doesn't appear to be gravely injured. According to NY Daily News, the detective was taken to "New York Presbyterian-Queens Hospital with minor injuries". 

Morgan is currently awaiting arraignment in Queens criminal court. DEA President Paul DiGiacomo issued a statement shortly after the incident and said, "If there’s anyone wondering why this happened, they can ask their elected officials who have created a city of no consequences for criminality." The association is likely to file a civil action against Morgan, DiGiacomo added. 

Was it staged?

Shortly after the video was uploaded to Twitter, several users began calling the video staged. One user responded, "Very convenient someone happened to be recording the exact moment the guy got smacked with a stick."

"D minus on your student film. Make some effort next time!" another joked. One person replied, "Dude was waiting for the white actors to "chase" him Like they forgot their cue and the "attacker" had to stand around till they "pursued" him."

Another asked, "Who exactly was it that _happened_ to be taking video of this? Did they know it was going to happen? Why did the perp just stand around, not take off immediately? Why did the cops chase so slowly & erratically? Why did the cop look up at the end like making sure it got on video?"

One person tweeted, "I cannot believe my taxes pay for this middle school video project ass fake bullshit". Another said, "If this is the best example of the dangerous criminals on the streets you have, I’ve seen worse in a freshman dorm. Even when you obviously stage a video you can’t make a convincing case for your narrative."

"Somebody just happens to be filming when a dude dressed like a ninja hits him with a curtain rod? And then the worlds slowest foot chase ensued, with everyone looking back at camera? Staged as f---," one person replied.

MEAWW hasn't been able to verify the authenticity of the footage or the claims. As of now, neither the NYPD nor the DEA has responded to the claims of the video being fake. As for Morgan, not much is known about him.

We found a Facebook page belonging to 'A.M. the Author', a rap artist based in South Bronx. According to the page, "A.M. is working on a mission to expose his community and the Roaches&Rats Lifestyle through rap." Since Morgan's face is covered in the video, we cannot confirm if this is indeed the same person.