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MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

NYC cop dispersing crowd choked in headlock for 4 seconds, falls to ground as mob cheers 'you just got smoked'

An unidentified man filming the unhinged encounter shouted 'F–k him up! F–k him up!' as the suspect wrapped his arm around one of the two officers' necks
PUBLISHED JUL 13, 2020
(Sergeants' Benevolent Association)
(Sergeants' Benevolent Association)

THE BRONX, NEW YORK: A couple of NYPD officers found themselves surrounded by an angry mob while trying to disperse a crowd at a Bronx street corner. In a video, the crowd is seen cheering on as a man the cops were trying to arrest put one of the two officers in a headlock – a controversial maneuver that the police themselves will soon face misdemeanor charges for using under a new City Council bill. An unidentified man filming the unhinged encounter shouts "F–k him up! F–k him up!" as the suspect wraps his arm around one of the officers' necks. After being choked for at least four seconds, the captive cop is seen falling to the ground. The suspect is then seen breaking the headlock and fleeing from the scene.

“They smoked you, p—y!” the man filming further taunts the cop. “You just got smoked, p—y!” The video from the July 1 altercation at Grand Concourse and Morris Avenue emerged Saturday after it was tweeted by the Sergeants Benevolent Association.



 

Alongside the video, the police union slammed the controversial City Council bill that will see cops face misdemeanor charges for using any "maneuver that restricts a suspect’s airflow by compressing the neck." The bill is now awaiting Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature, the New York Post reported.

According to the bill, officers would face up to a year in jail for "sitting, kneeling, or standing on a suspect’s chest or back in a manner compressing their breathing."

“COREY JOHNSON your STUPID law is about to be signed by NYC STUPID Mayor it’s time you both take your community input & grab these perps yourself,” the SBA tweeted, alongside the disturbing video.

“Putting a cop in a headlock could mean a death sentence if they lose control of their gun,” a law enforcement source told The Post. “A cop in a headlock can’t maintain weapons control.”

Sources told the outlet that the cop who was in a headlock sustained a gash to the head and required staples.

A police source told The Post that the NYPD knows the identity of the "headlocker" saying he was a known gang member who turned himself in a week after the incident to the 46th Precinct.

Sources added that the attacker has a significant criminal record -- having been arrested 11 times for charges such as gang assault, criminal possession of a loaded firearm, robbery, etc.

At the precinct, the suspect's lawyer furnished video from the incident showing the cop lunging at the suspect before the scuffle began. The lawyer believed the footage would exonerate his client, but it did not show what prompted the officer to lunge. It would later emerge in police bodycam footage that the suspect kicked a body camera that had fallen off the uniform of one of the cops down the street, thereby sparking the altercation.

Sources said the suspect was initially released without charges pending further investigation by the Bronx DA's office.

“The NYPD was disappointed that the individual was not charged initially,” an NYPD spokesperson said. “The violence against the police officer speaks for itself. We are now in discussions with the District Attorney regarding the case.”

Mayor de Blasio has stated he plans to sign the chokehold bill next week, despite concerns raised by law enforcement.

“We’re going to do the retraining of officers to address the features of the law,” de Blasio told a Tuesday news conference. “And as with everything in life, we’re going to work hard to make it work.”

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