A New York police officer was pulled off the streets after he was filmed violently beating down a young Black man who was watching another man’s arrest.
The video starts with a group of NYPD officers pulling a man out of a convenience store to arrest him. Offscreen, a woman who tried to intervene was also arrested in the May 2 incident, according to the New York Daily News. One of the officers, Francisco Garcia, walked away from other officers as a group of curious bystanders approached.
“Move the f–k back right now,” the cop told the onlookers as he activated his taser.
One of them, Donni Wright, walked toward Garcia with his hands at his sides. The officer responded with a slap and several punches. Wright fell to the ground while Garcia continued to pummel him and dragged him through a crosswalk. Eventually, another officer ran over and arrested Wright. Garcia rested his knee on Wright’s head and waved his taser at a few witnesses before he walked away.
The video made its rounds on social media and went viral within a day. Many viewers referred to the COVID-19 reopening protests to highlight a racial double standard.
“Go use the same energy with the white protesters,” wrote one Facebook commenter.
“But white nationalist can storm a statehouse armed to the teeth and have zero consequences! When is enough enough???” another person said on Twitter, apparently referring to protests in the Lansing, Michigan, Capitol building.
“Remember when cops stood stoically as armed white men yelled inches from their faces and a man in the back yelled ‘you all realize WE outnumber THEM right?!’” stated another observer. “What was that? Yesterday?”
The NYPD claimed Garcia reacted because Wright walked up in a “fighting stance.” White’s hands were balled into fists when he entered the scene, but he never raised his arms. Additionally, he did not retaliate when Garcia was hitting him. Wright was later charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and menacing.
Shakiem Brunson and Ashley Serrano, the people who were initially being arrested, also received several charges, including resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and weapon possession. Brunson was also charged with marijuana possession for a large amount of weed officers allegedly discovered on him.
Garcia has been placed on modified desk duty while the NYPD conducts an internal investigation.
New York temperatures finally hit the 70s, so the city deployed 1,000 NYPD officers to enforce state social distancing orders and guidelines among people who ventured out. Brunson and Serrano’s arrests started out as a social distancing violation before the former’s reported weed was found.
The heavy police presence has been worrisome for New Yorkers, the New York Post reported.
“I walk out of my building [in Chinatown] and I have a cop telling me it’s illegal for me to not wear a face mask outside,” resident Malcolm Brown told the outlet.
“I started to really pay attention and I saw dozens of police vans everywhere. It’s an overwhelming feeling. I understand they are keeping us safe, but do we really want to become China, where they’re recording you when you come out of your building?”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledged the temptation of springtime weather but implored residents to exercise caution.
“Go for a walk, but respect the social distancing and wear a mask,” he said during a press conference. “I’ve said to law enforcement all across the state: Enforce the mask executive order.”
Cuomo also condemned people who refused to wear face coverings in public.
“It’s reckless, it’s irresponsible and it’s not about your life,” he said. “It’s about other people’s lives.”
