Police Brutality - NYC Police vs Skateboarder
An NYPD cop wrestled a skateboarder to the ground — possibly putting him into a banned chokehold — as he tried to ticket him in Columbus Circle, a startling video shows.
The video, released by 22-year-old Yibin Mu on YouTube Monday, shows a cop aggressivley locking his arms around head and taking him to the ground.
The cop then forces Mu flat on his stomach, sits on him and pepper sprays the skateboarder as he tries to cuff his hands, the video shows.
“What did I do wrong?” Mu can be heard asking the cop. “What is my crime?”
Pedestrians who witnessed the arrest — which unfolded Sunday at about 5 p.m., according to court records — were astounded.
“Yo! Yo!” one person was heard screaming.
“Here we go again,” another said.
In comments posted with the video, Mu said that the cop grabbed him “without warning” and put him in a chokehold.
“The police officer used one hand to grab my forearm and the other hand to grab the back of my neck,” he wrote. “He then put me in a chokehold and this is what happened next. I was nonagressive the entire time. I’m tired of abusive cops.”
A request for comment to the NYPD was not immediately returned.
A police spokesman told Gothamist that the officer stopped Mu to give him a ticket for skateboarding at Columbus Circle — which is prohibited — but that Mu “refused to sit down and ignored him.”
There are six signs posted around Columbus Circle alerting skateboarders that to get off the board or stay clear of the area, the spokesman said.
Mu was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to comply with posted signs — all misdemeanors, officials said.
He was released on his own recognizance at his arraignment Monday, according to court records.
Chokeholds have been banned by the NYPD for more than two decades, though the maneuver was used in the death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner in July, 2014, officials said.
An NYPD cop wrestled a skateboarder to the ground — possibly putting him into a banned chokehold — as he tried to ticket him in Columbus Circle, a startling video shows.
The video, released by 22-year-old Yibin Mu on YouTube Monday, shows a cop aggressivley locking his arms around head and taking him to the ground.
The cop then forces Mu flat on his stomach, sits on him and pepper sprays the skateboarder as he tries to cuff his hands, the video shows.
“What did I do wrong?” Mu can be heard asking the cop. “What is my crime?”
Pedestrians who witnessed the arrest — which unfolded Sunday at about 5 p.m., according to court records — were astounded.
“Yo! Yo!” one person was heard screaming.
“Here we go again,” another said.
In comments posted with the video, Mu said that the cop grabbed him “without warning” and put him in a chokehold.
“The police officer used one hand to grab my forearm and the other hand to grab the back of my neck,” he wrote. “He then put me in a chokehold and this is what happened next. I was nonagressive the entire time. I’m tired of abusive cops.”
A request for comment to the NYPD was not immediately returned.
A police spokesman told Gothamist that the officer stopped Mu to give him a ticket for skateboarding at Columbus Circle — which is prohibited — but that Mu “refused to sit down and ignored him.”
There are six signs posted around Columbus Circle alerting skateboarders that to get off the board or stay clear of the area, the spokesman said.
Mu was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to comply with posted signs — all misdemeanors, officials said.
He was released on his own recognizance at his arraignment Monday, according to court records.
Chokeholds have been banned by the NYPD for more than two decades, though the maneuver was used in the death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner in July, 2014, officials said.