A police officer punched and dragged a homeless man who was allegedly taking up more than one seat on a near-empty subway train in Manhattan, body camera video from May shows.
But Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is charging the bloodied man with felony assault, punishable by up to seven years in prison, for allegedly kicking the officers hand while the cop tried to cuff him on the platform of the Midtown station.
Joseph T., 30, who asked that his last name not be used because he fears retaliation, left a Manhattan homeless shelter with his belongings in a few tote bags. He got tired of waiting for a bed, huddled with others in the entrance area, he said.
It was around 12:30 a.m. on May 25, according to a criminal complaint, when police approached Joseph because, Officer Shimul Saha said, he was occupying more than one seat on the near-empty No. 6 train. Joseph left the car and moved to the next one.
Police followed him. Joseph, a hair stylist by trade, said he did not understand why the cops were ordering him to exit the train and refused, body camera video obtained by the Legal Aid Society shows.
You cant arrest me for not wanting to get off of the train, Joseph says as police officers tell him he is holding up other riders.
One police officer, Adonis Long, reaches out to get Joseph off the train. Joseph bats his hand away.
Then, Long tries to pull him up. When Joseph lurches away, the cop punches him twice in the face, knocking off his glasses, and drags him off the train. He kicks Josephs bags on to the platform.
Why are you f-----g hitting me? Joseph moans, his back against the wall of the 51st Street and Lexington Avenue subway platform.
Long then takes out his pepper spray, at which point Joseph is crying and pleading Stop! against the wall, surrounded by police and appearing to bleed from the side of his head.
Im having a panic attack, please, he says, cuffed on the floor of the station. He calls out for his older brother, who was not there.
Relax, the phalanx of officers surrounding him command. He remained cuffed on the platform floor for about 20 minutes, until EMTs arrived with a stretcher and transported him to Mt. Sinai Hospital.
I felt like my heart was going to fall out, a still-shaken Joseph told THE CITY in an interview this weekend.
He wonders if police approached him in a case of mistaken identity.
I feel like somebody else did something that looks like me and Im getting the repercussions from it, he said.
But prosecutors say Josephs behavior during the arrest warrants felony charges.
Saha said in a criminal complaint that Long told him Joseph kicked his right hand while the officers attempted to cuff the ejected rider on the platform. Long, according to Saha, sustained swelling and substantial pain to the knuckles of his right hand and was transported to the hospital.
He informs me that because of the swelling he is unable to open and close his hand without experiencing pain, Saha said.