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OUTRAGEOUS! Teen who was caught on video battering police officer RELEASED in less than 24 hours

During the recent assault, another teen, a girl, 16, ducked under the turnstile with the boy and tried to free him from the officers' hold

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MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A teenage thug was released less than 24 hours after being held for starting a brawl with an NYPD officer and putting him in a chokehold. The 16-year-old boy was released under the city’s relaxed bail laws. A video that surfaced earlier showed the boy punching the cop in the head, and then slamming him repeatedly into metal railings by grabbing him around the neck. 

The boy, who could not be publicly identified because of his age, lashed out after an officer confronted him after he allegedly jumped a turnstile in East Harlem over the weekend. The teen was reportedly previously arrested for possession of a loaded gun and robbery. However, he was released the next day after appearing in court. 

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During the recent assault, another teen, a girl, 16, ducked under the turnstile with the boy and tried to free him from the officers' hold. She threw punches, trying to drag the cops off the boy. A female officer subsequently dragged her away as the NYPD arrested the boy. 

"If New Yorkers want to know why the chaos in the transit system is not improving more quickly — this is why," Patrick Lynch, President of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, said, according to the Daily Mail. "The criminals underground know they can get in a brawl, choke a cop and be back out in hours. Cops are putting ourselves on the line to make the subways safer, but we are feeling abandoned by a justice system that won’t back us up."

The brawl began after the boy allegedly verbally abused the officers. When they tried to arrest him, he began assaulting the officer in an attempt to escape. The video shows the boy with a bloodied face as officers finally manage to pin him to the ground. He was arrested and charged with assault on a police officer, obstruction of governmental administration, and resisting arrest. The teen girl was arrested on the same charges but the outcome of her arraignment remains unclear.

However, less than 24 hours after his arrest, the boy was released on his own recognizance. "One officer suffered swelling to his head and shoulder and was treated and released at NYU. The other officer was also treated and released at NYU," officers said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, NYPD chief Jason Wilcox told MTA board members at a meeting that assaults on officers have significantly risen this year. Wilcox said that in many of these cases, the cops were attempting to enforce so-called quality of life infractions. ""We have seen over a 55% increase in assaults on police officers this year. The majority of these assaults on our officers began as officers were engaging persons who committed fare evasion and other quality of life violations on the trains and in the stations," Wilcox said.