Queens DA will not charge man after suspending officer in ‘apparent chokehold’ incident
After the officer's bodycam footage was released, a spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio said 'the video is very concerning'
The incident began on a Sunday morning, a New York City police officer has been suspended without pay for using a chokehold on an unarmed man in Queens.
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UPDATED: 6/22 1:35 p.m.
After a New York City police officer was suspended without pay for using a chokehold on an unarmed man in Queens, the Queens DA will not press any charges on the arrestee.
According to his lawyer, Ricky Bellevue was facing charges including disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest after an incident on Rockaway Beach.
It began on a Sunday morning when a group of young men who were hanging out on the boardwalk were seen on police bodycam footage seen taunting police, sometimes calling them names.
READ MORE: Buffalo officials investigating firing of Black cop who intervened during chokehold
According to CNN, a law enforcement official said that the man who was arrested threatened police saying, “Touch any of my boys and you’ll be dead.” One of his friends then is heard saying, “Stop,” while another is heard saying, “You’re giving them a reason to beat our a**es.”
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7EqV56xsXcxMaCQhYDdQhc
Eventually, the man makes what police perceived as a threatening gesture by reaching into a plastic bag and a scuffle begins. Officers force the man to the ground. It is at this point when one unnamed officer uses the chokehold before another officer taps his back and he releases it.
A bystander captured the incident on camera.
NYPD officer used an illegal chokehold on a black man this morning in Far Rockaway, NY — and only stopped because another cop realized they were being filme.
They choked him out… pic.twitter.com/SXZNnSbwDM
— Rex Chapman?? (@RexChapman) June 21, 2020
Lori Zeno, executive director of the Queens Defenders is defending the young man. She says that the officer should be fired and prosecuted. Zeno says that the confrontation began because the young men were kicking cans on the beach and kicked one toward the officers. She says that her client has been charged with disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental justice, and resisting arrest.
READ MORE: NYPD to eliminate plainclothes anti-crime units
The officers’ body camera footage was released according to new directives set by NYC mayor, Bill de Blasio, in response to protests for police reform. The mandate says that body camera footage must be first shown to the family of the victim, then released within 30 days anytime an officer fires his weapon, causes death or injury with a taser, or kills or injures a person through the use of force.
A spokesperson for de Blasio’s office said Sunday that “The video is very concerning. We’re glad the NYPD is immediately launching an investigation to get to the bottom of what happened.”
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