WARNING: The video above contains graphic violence.
A man is facing a slew of charges after he was caught on camera brutally beating a disabled Black woman with her own cane in New York City. According to New York Post, 43-year-old Norton Blake was arrested five days after the vicious attack on 60-year-old Laurell Reynolds.
Viral footage obtained by the news source shows Blake lashing Reynolds dozens of times with her walker, to the point where the top handle broke off, at the West 116 Street and Lenox Avenue subway station in Harlem around 3:30 a.m. last Friday (September 1). The suspect can be heard screaming, “I was helping you with your f–king walker on the stairs, it just happened to fall down!”
An MTA worker filmed the disturbing beatdown as they called the city's Rail Control Center, which called the cops, according to Richard Davey, president of the New York City Transit Authority. Police responded to the scene, but reporters claim they let Norton walk due to conflicting accounts from both parties -- a move that enraged Reynolds' daughter.
“He could do this to someone else’s mother or father because they did not lock him up,” Lashanna Reese, 41, told the Post on Tuesday (September 5). She also called out bystanders who didn't help her mother in the dangerous situation.
“That man could’ve killed my mother … You all did nothing. I have a problem with that."
The NYC Transit Authority said the assault happened following an argument between Norton and Reynolds on the subway steps. The victim, who's now hospitalized, recounted the horrific experience in an interview with reporters.
“I was trying to get my walker up the steps, and this man was coming down and he was like, ‘Move, b**ch, get out of the way,’” she recalled. “He really started cursing at me, then he pushed me down and hit me with the cane and knocked me down … he took my walker and he beat me."
New York Police identified Norton as the suspect after they revealed he gave them a false name. He was arrested on Wednesday (September 6) at his Bronx home on felony assault charges.
The wild incident didn't end there. While he was being escorted by police in Harlem, Norton went on an "apocalyptic" tirade against reporters, according to the Post.
“I am a man of the Lord, and I should not be treated in this manner!” he yelled at journalists and photographers. “Judgment is coming upon the face of the Earth! ... You’ll remember this when the Lord brings his wrath upon you and this society!”
According to reporters, Norton's rap sheet dates back to 2002 and features several crimes, including drug possession, assault, possessing stolen property, trespassing, and more.
"They need to keep that man off the street," Reynolds said.
NYPD also confirmed their Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the officers who responded to the assault.
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