An NYPD officer has been stripped of his gun and badge after a video surfaced of him kicking a fellow cop in the head, reports DNAinfo. The plainclothes officer ran onto the scene as reinforcement while two other cops held down an alleged fare-beater. He mistook the officer for the suspect, however, before he delivered a blow to the head. Upon realizing his mistake, he gently patted the hurt cop on the head and punched his intended target, the suspect, in the face.
On the video, a female witness can be heard saying, “They don’t like it when it’s done to them, huh.” The video amassed 1 million views before it was taken down, serving as yet more evidence of the NYPD’s questionable intimidation tactics. From the man who shot the video:
Rod Risbrook, a professional photographer who shot the video, told “On The Inside” that he was heading home and had just stepped off the train when he saw two officers and the suspect exchanging words.
“He was having a discussion with one of the police,” he said. “The next thing I know reinforcements were called in and plainclothes men came out of nowhere.”
According to officials, the incident took place in January at Coney Island‘s Stillwell Avenue station. The offending officer served Coney Island’s 60th Precinct as part of the undercover anti-crime unit, but his identity has not been revealed. Both the office of Brooklyn District Attorney and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau are investigating the incident. (Photo: DNAinfo)
