A shocking video captured the moment an NYPD officer punched a woman to the ground after a scuffle broke out during the arrest of her boyfriend in Harlem.
The confrontation, caught on now-viral video by a bystander on West 136th Street, began when police officers arrived to arrest 22-year-old Elvin James on Tuesday evening, WABC reported. Mr James was wanted in connection with an attempted murder and was allegedly in possession of an illegal ghost gun and a large amount of a controlled substance at the time of his arrest.
As he was taken into custody, Mr James’ girfriend Tamani Crum approached the officers and tensions quickly escalated, the video shows.
Ms Crum, 19, at one point appears to strike an officer on the shoulder with an open hand.
When the officer attempts to shove her off, the woman begins to back away before he advances once more and clocks her in the face, knocking her on her back on the city pavement.
She is then seen rolling around in pain and clutching her face before two officers scoop her up off the ground and place her in handcuffs.
In the video, bystanders to the punch out can be heard shouting at the officers, “Bro why would you do that?” while another bystander chirps in, “C’mon bro, you hit her man.”
The badge number of the officer seen in the since-viral video is associated with Detective Kendo Kinsey, a neighborhood coordination officer in Harlem’s 32nd precinct, according to The Daily Beast.
When reached for comment about the incident, a spokesperson for the NYPD described how people watching the arrest take place had reportedly begun to “interfere” with the officers, and that’s when the altercation between the officer and Ms Crum took place.
“While police were effecting the arrest multiple individuals on scene interfered by physically assaulting numerous officers. One officer sustained a minor injury to the head,” the spokesperson said without identifying the officer.
The 19-year-old woman who was struck by the officer was arrested and charged with, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, the spokesperson said.
A 27-year-old woman and 26-year-old woman were also charged with assault on a police officer and spitting at an officer, respectively.
The Independent has reached out Officer Kinsey for comment on the video.
When reached by Daily Beast, the officer informed the news outlet that he was “very much” aware of the video but could not comment further.
Officer Kinsey, who has been employed with the NYPD since 2005, has received six complaints between 2014 to 2018, according to records kept with the Citizen Complaint Review Board (CCRB), which is an independent police watchdog group that collects data on officer’s conduct.
Of those six, two of the complaints – one for discourtesy and one for abuse of authority – were substantiated, but he only received discipline for the first complaint and not the second one.
It is unclear whether the NYPD would be disciplining the officer for striking the woman.
The video sparked widespread backlash in the community and beyond as activists demand accountability for Officer Kinsey.
