A video of several NYPD officers appearing to beat a Black man on the Fourth of July is sparking outrage.
According to Hawk Newsome, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, the incident unfolded after cops initially approached a white man and cordially spoke to him about shooting off fireworks. In New York City, all fireworks, including sparklers, are illegal to use, buy, sell, or transport.
Newsome said the same officers were much more aggressive in their approach with an 18-year-old Black woman who was wearing a hoodie and holding a sparkler in her hand.
“They tackled the girl because they saw a Black person in a hoodie and thought it was a gangster,” Newsome said. “But when they realized it was a girl, they were apologetic and let the girl go without arrest.”
A relative of the woman, Shaquan Davis, approached the officers about the woman's assault, only to be attacked himself, according to Newsome.
Video of the incident shows officers repeatedly punching Davis as a bystander attempted to intervene. One of the officers pulled out a Taser on the bystander and another man who pleaded with authorities to let Davis go.
“Get the f–k back!” one of the officers said.
After the bystanders backed away, officers appeared to continue to violently detain Davis.
The video was widely shared on social media and sparked backlash.
Davis is facing charges including felony assault on a police officer as well as resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct, harassment, and assault with the intent to cause physical injury, according to an NYPD spokesperson.
The police spokesperson told Atlanta Black Star that Davis was arrested for interfering with their arrest of the woman.
"Officers attempted to stop an individual for lighting fireworks and pointing the fireworks at apartment windows on East 3rd Street. The individual fled officers and a 27-year-old male suspect actively prevented officers from pursuing the individual by stepping in the officers’ path as well as physically pushing an officer. When the officer attempted to place the suspect under arrest, he actively resisted by pushing, shoving, wrestling, flailing his arms, and punching the officer to prevent being placed under arrest," the spokesperson said.
Newsome believes racial profiling is at the root of the case.
“This whole thing was over fireworks, but when the family got to the precinct to find out what was going on, there were white people across the street from the precinct shooting off fireworks,” he said.
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