Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch addressed the disturbing, viral video that showed two cops mercilessly beating a man inside a Brooklyn liquor store.
Photo by Dean Moses
Two cops in Brooklyn caught on camera mercilessly beating a man inside a liquor store in a viral video have been placed on modified duty, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday.
The city’s top cop made the announcement during an unrelated press conference on April 15 when she was asked about the footage that shows raining down punches on a man inside a business near the corner of Hoyt and Baltic Streets in Boerum Hill just before 4 p.m. on April 14.
The video, which went viral on Instagram, showed two plainclothes officers pummeling and wrestling with a man in an altercation that sent bottles of alcohol flying from shelves and blood left smeared over the ground.
“What’s your badge number?” Abelee Moran, who filmed the encounter, could be heard screaming in the video.
“You can’t resist arrest,” one of the officers scoffed as the man lay motionless on the ground. The man was later arrested.
The video, which went viral on Instagram, showed two plainclothes officers pummeling and wrestling with a man in an altercation that sent bottles of alcohol flying from shelves and blood left smeared over the ground.Screenshot via Instagram
“I want justice for this guy; I’ve never in my life witnessed something so horrific,” Moran said following the incident.
Tisch said on Wednesday that she saw the video and was appalled by the events. The two officers involved were placed on modified duty as the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau conducts a full investigation.
“I have seen it, I have been briefed on it, and this matter is under internal review by our Internal Affairs Bureau, and we’ll have more to say about it as that investigation unfolds. But I understand the community interest in it, because it is an upsetting video,” Tisch said.
Meanwhile, criminal justice activists say they are up in arms over the beating.
“What we witnessed in that video is a blatant violation of human rights and a disgusting display of force,” said Hawk Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York. “We are calling for the immediate identification and firing of these detectives. We will not stand by while our community members are assaulted and bloodied in broad daylight.”
The NYPD did not immediately respond when asked for comment on why the assaulted man was arrested.