VIDEO: Cops pepper-spray man at Brooklyn subway station, arrest woman filming as commuters object
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A video shared to social media shows an NYPD sergeant pepper-spraying a man and arresting a woman who was filming as onlookers beg for an explanation and question the use of force.
The incident took place on Tuesday around 10 p.m. on a Queens-bound Brooklyn J train stopped at the Hewes Street Station in Williamsburg, according to the woman who filmed and posted it.
The video, which was shared on TikTok and Instagram by an account named @ToreyRenz, starts with police demanding a man exit the train.
It wasn't immediately clear what led police to confront the man in the first place, and police refused to identify their reason for making the stop in the video.
The man repeatedly asks why he’s being targeted as he exits the train with his phone in his hand, presumably filming the officers.
A police sergeant aims a pepper spray canister at the man with his finger on the actuator — the release button — as the man steps off the train.
The officer tells him to turn around and put his hands behind his back. “For what?” the man asks.
At this point, train passengers, many of whom are filming, start questioning the reason for the arrest as well.
“Are you bugging?” said one commuter. “You don’t need to be doing that,” said another.
All of the passengers, as well as the man being arrested, are standing about an arm’s length away from police on the narrow above-ground train platform.
The sergeant repeats his demand for the man to turn around and put his hands behind his back three more times. The man is standing with his back to the officer at an angle and his arm raised, holding his phone. His other arm is out of frame in the video.
The sergeant then pepper-sprays him in the eyes, causing the man to double over. Other officers join the sergeant in handcuffing the man.
The sergeant holds the cannister outstretched as he prepares to pepper-spray the commuter. Photo credit ToreyRenz/Instagram
At this point passengers angrily deride the arrest and use of force.
“Why? What did he do?” said one. Many of the commuters demand his badge number, which he does not provide.
As passengers demand answers, the sergeant shoves two of the people who were asking for his badge number, saying “back away” while he’s shoving them, video shows.
He proceeds to grab a woman who was filming from about an arm’s length away by the wrist and shoves her against the wall of the station. Another officer steps over and the two of them handcuff her as she yells “Oh my god, I didn’t do anything.”
Officers grab the woman who was filming by the wrists before placing her in handcuffs. Photo credit ToreyRenz/Instagram
Tory, the woman who posted the video, told 1010 WINS police left without identifying themselves soon after the end of the video.
“Cops took both people away and the whole car of people was shocked and just in disbelief,” she said. “At this point we didn’t really know what to do so we let the doors close and discussed together what just happened as we all rode the train.”
The NYPD said the incident is under investigation.
“We are aware of the video that has been posted on social media, this incident is currently under investigation and review by the Department,” a spokesperson told 1010 WINS.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board, the watchdog agency tasked with reviewing police misconduct, said a complaint was filed and the board has launched its own investigation.
Regardless of the CCRB’s ruling, the final decision on whether the officers involved should face consequences will fall to the NYPD.
The NYPD patrol guide allows for the use of pepper spray “to gain or maintain control of persons who are actively resisting arrest or lawful custody or exhibiting active aggression, or to prevent individuals from physically injuring themselves, members of the service, or other persons.”
The man in the video was not following instructions, but he was not “actively” resisting arrest nor was he “exhibiting active aggression.”
Active resistance requires physical struggle. The NYPD defines passive resistance as “minimal physical action to prevent a member from performing their lawful duty,” and gives the examples of going limp or standing motionless. Police are not permitted to use pepper spray in response to passive resistance.
It is legal to film police, though filming must be conducted at a “safe distance,” according to the 2020 bill enshrining New Yorkers right to record.
The bill does not define “safe distance,” granting discretion to officers when determining who is and isn’t filming safely.
The woman who was arrested while filming in the video was standing about an arm’s length away from the nearest officer and outside a ring of police standing around the handcuffed man.
The passengers repeatedly request identification and information from the officers in the video, which the police refused to provide, according to witnesses.
In instances where police are making an arrest on suspicion of committing a crime, officers must identify themselves and give an explanation for the encounter, according to the 2018 Right to Know Act.
Police must provide their name and badge number if asked, though there are certain circumstances where this might not apply.
“There are circumstances which would make it not necessary for them to give their badge number,” said a spokesperson for the CCRB. “If a complaint gets filed, it would be one of the allegations included and the board would have to review the evidence and vote on it.”
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A video shared to social media shows an NYPD sergeant pepper-spraying a man and arresting a woman who was filming as onlookers beg for an explanation and question the use of force.
The incident took place on Tuesday around 10 p.m. on a Queens-bound Brooklyn J train stopped at the Hewes Street Station in Williamsburg, according to the woman who filmed and posted it.
The video, which was shared on TikTok and Instagram by an account named @ToreyRenz, starts with police demanding a man exit the train.
It wasn't immediately clear what led police to confront the man in the first place, and police refused to identify their reason for making the stop in the video.
The man repeatedly asks why he’s being targeted as he exits the train with his phone in his hand, presumably filming the officers.
A police sergeant aims a pepper spray canister at the man with his finger on the actuator — the release button — as the man steps off the train.
The officer tells him to turn around and put his hands behind his back. “For what?” the man asks.
At this point, train passengers, many of whom are filming, start questioning the reason for the arrest as well.
“Are you bugging?” said one commuter. “You don’t need to be doing that,” said another.
All of the passengers, as well as the man being arrested, are standing about an arm’s length away from police on the narrow above-ground train platform.
The sergeant repeats his demand for the man to turn around and put his hands behind his back three more times. The man is standing with his back to the officer at an angle and his arm raised, holding his phone. His other arm is out of frame in the video.
The sergeant then pepper-sprays him in the eyes, causing the man to double over. Other officers join the sergeant in handcuffing the man.
The sergeant holds the cannister outstretched as he prepares to pepper-spray the commuter. Photo credit ToreyRenz/Instagram
At this point passengers angrily deride the arrest and use of force.
“Why? What did he do?” said one. Many of the commuters demand his badge number, which he does not provide.
As passengers demand answers, the sergeant shoves two of the people who were asking for his badge number, saying “back away” while he’s shoving them, video shows.
He proceeds to grab a woman who was filming from about an arm’s length away by the wrist and shoves her against the wall of the station. Another officer steps over and the two of them handcuff her as she yells “Oh my god, I didn’t do anything.”
Officers grab the woman who was filming by the wrists before placing her in handcuffs. Photo credit ToreyRenz/Instagram
Tory, the woman who posted the video, told 1010 WINS police left without identifying themselves soon after the end of the video.
“Cops took both people away and the whole car of people was shocked and just in disbelief,” she said. “At this point we didn’t really know what to do so we let the doors close and discussed together what just happened as we all rode the train.”
The NYPD said the incident is under investigation.
“We are aware of the video that has been posted on social media, this incident is currently under investigation and review by the Department,” a spokesperson told 1010 WINS.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board, the watchdog agency tasked with reviewing police misconduct, said a complaint was filed and the board has launched its own investigation.
Regardless of the CCRB’s ruling, the final decision on whether the officers involved should face consequences will fall to the NYPD.
The NYPD patrol guide allows for the use of pepper spray “to gain or maintain control of persons who are actively resisting arrest or lawful custody or exhibiting active aggression, or to prevent individuals from physically injuring themselves, members of the service, or other persons.”
The man in the video was not following instructions, but he was not “actively” resisting arrest nor was he “exhibiting active aggression.”
Active resistance requires physical struggle. The NYPD defines passive resistance as “minimal physical action to prevent a member from performing their lawful duty,” and gives the examples of going limp or standing motionless. Police are not permitted to use pepper spray in response to passive resistance.
It is legal to film police, though filming must be conducted at a “safe distance,” according to the 2020 bill enshrining New Yorkers right to record.
The bill does not define “safe distance,” granting discretion to officers when determining who is and isn’t filming safely.
The woman who was arrested while filming in the video was standing about an arm’s length away from the nearest officer and outside a ring of police standing around the handcuffed man.
The passengers repeatedly request identification and information from the officers in the video, which the police refused to provide, according to witnesses.
In instances where police are making an arrest on suspicion of committing a crime, officers must identify themselves and give an explanation for the encounter, according to the 2018 Right to Know Act.
Police must provide their name and badge number if asked, though there are certain circumstances where this might not apply.
“There are circumstances which would make it not necessary for them to give their badge number,” said a spokesperson for the CCRB. “If a complaint gets filed, it would be one of the allegations included and the board would have to review the evidence and vote on it.”
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