Over the years, social media has become a place that has made police brutality more visible. Although it hasn’t solved the problem or seemingly even led to progress being made, it is easier for people to see what kind of violence is sometimes inflicted. Recently, a video was shared on social media of New York City Police Department officers using physical force to try to arrest a young Black man. Even though some people think the officers were justified in their actions, many people are pushing back, saying it was too much.
A video posted by @nysh—ynews on Instagram shows the young man having his arms grabbed by two NYPD officers before a third slams him to the ground. A fourth officer is assigned to keep the crowd at bay while the brutal attack continues.
The two officers proceed to twist the teen’s arms behind his back while the third is seen bending his legs under his body. He continues to squirm, and as a result, his face is pressed into the sidewalk. The officers can be seen pulling his hair in an attempt to further press his face into the ground. One also pushes down on the young man’s neck in an effort to further restrain him.
Eventually, they put handcuffs on him, dragging him off to a waiting police car.
According to the New York Post, the 18-year-old was stopped after riding a Citi Bike through a police traffic checkpoint. While the NYPD didn’t comment on the incident, “sources” gave more details to the newspaper.
These sources allege that the teen rode through a red light and refused to stop when commanded to by police, the Post reported. They also claim another person was riding on the bike’s handlebars. It is also being alleged that the teen resisted arrest, prompting the physical takedown.
Comments on the video are overwhelmingly calling out the police brutality displayed in the video, saying that the punishment doesn’t fit the alleged crime.
“Nothing about this arrest shows any degree of civility,” one comment begins. “It shouldn’t take this many police officers to deal with what was likely a minor traffic infraction on a bicycle. The ratio of police vs. a citizen is beyond ridiculous.”
“Absolute bs there’s no reason to treat a kid like this over a citibike,” another comment reads.
Someone else pointed out the imbalance of power. “My problem is why does it take 6-8 payrolls worth of tax dollars to arrest a lil scrawny kid?” the commenter questioned.
A different commenter agreed, writing, “abuse of power comes as no surprise but that’s disgraceful that amount of force is never necessary.”
“Four cops against one teenager. Hope they feel guilty at night,” someone else chimed in.
“This only happens in the hood,” one commenter wrote. “I don’t see them pulling white men off their bikes after running a red light on Park avenue. He was not resisting his body is reacting to the pain of being twisted like a pretzel. This is wrong. You got this wrong NYPD!!”
