Post by Cube on Oct 8, 2014 20:53:40 GMT -5
New York City police officers could face criminal charges for a videotaped beating of a teenager marijuana suspect.
Surveillance video posted online by DNAinfo New York shows the officers catch up to 16-year-old Kahreem Tribble following a brief foot chase Aug. 29 in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
The teen slows up and turns to face one of the officers, Tyrane Isaac, who immediately takes a swing at Tribble – but the teen manages to duck the roundhouse punch.
Tribble backs up against a wall with his hands raised in surrender as both officers approach him.
The second officer, Officer David Afanador, smashes the teen in the face with a handgun, and the first officer punches him in the head moments later.
A third officer arrives on the scene and stands watch while Isaac places the teen in handcuffs and Afandor jogs away to retrieve Tribble’s bag — which he smacks the teen with in the face when he returns.
Tribble, who was charged with possession of 17 small bags of marijuana and disorderly conduct, appeared in court afterward with cracked teeth and bruises.
He pleaded guilty to a violation in the case.
Investigations were launched by the police department’s Internal Affairs Bureau and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office after the video was discovered.
Police initially spotted the teen peeking into the window of a parked minivan and said he tossed away a small canvas bag and fled as they approached.
The officers said they feared the teen had a weapon.
Afanador has been suspended without pay during the investigation, and Isaac was stripped of his badge and gun while placed on modified duty.
The third officer, Christopher Mastoros, is not part of the criminal investigation, but he could face departmental charges for failing to stop his colleagues from beating the boy.