Video footage shows a now-suspended New York Police Department officer punching a Black schoolgirl in the head.
The 14-year veteran officer, suspended for 30 days without pay, was breaking up an after-school fight between several girls in Staten Island on Jan. 3 around 2:40 p.m. EST when the incident occurred, according to PIX11 News.
An Instagram video of the incident showed the policeman repeatedly hitting a girl in the head as a mob interfered and another officer sought to seize her. The girl resisted as she was being pushed around by police and onlookers.
The Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the officers’ actions.
“I was not happy with what I saw in the video,” said Mayor Eric Adams, according to PIX11. “This was an incident that happened off school grounds — a girl was being jumped.”
Police arrested a 14-year-old girl in connection to the fight, and her 12-year-old sister received a juvenile report.
NYPD claims the teen tried to seize the officer’s handcuffs as he was holding her in custody, hitting him before he retaliated. She received treatment at a hospital and was subsequently released.
The Police Benevolent Association, the union for the suspended officer, said the officers involved are entitled to due process, not a quick judgment based on a few seconds of video, NBC 4 New York reported.
Taneesha Robinson, the girls’ mother, claimed her daughter now has a headache and is calling for a complete investigation, according to NBC.
“They’re supposed to be protected by the police officers and I didn’t expect them to get hurt,” said Robinson, who added that it’s not up to her if the officer faces further discipline, NBC reported.
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