Current Events > Man charged with assault for causing swelling to cop's fist.

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https://www.thecity.nyc/2020/7/14/21324745/video-shows-cop-punching-man-on-manhattan-subway

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.

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oink

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Antifar posted...

He informs me that because of the swelling he is unable to open and close his hand without experiencing pain, Saha said.

boo hoo. maybe don't brutalize people then and this wouldn't happen to you

psycho

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It's a good thing the cops are out there to prevent the crime of taking up too much space on the train, I for one can sleep safe tonight.

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Hopefully the judge throws this one out.

thank god a cop was there, who knows what would have happened. he might have taken up three whole seats

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he fucked him up

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whoever authorized those charges should share a cell with the battering officer for a very long time.

police reform doesn't end with the police. the entire system is rotten to its core.

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What would we do without cops? We'd have to brutalize the homeless ourselves, and that's beneath first world citizens
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MarqueeSeries posted...

What would we do without cops?

Probably die.
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Medussa posted...

whoever authorized those charges should share a cell with the battering officer for a very long time.

police reform doesn't end with the police. the entire system is rotten to its core.

This. It's a bad cop propped up by bad prosecutors and bad police chiefs.
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RIP Man charged died on the subway taking up 97 seats

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Good. Riding a train while poor is a serious crime. Hopefully he pays for the EMT & hospital bills that were ordered on his behalf as well.

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DAs are essentially forced into "Lavrentiy Beria mode" by NIMBYs and "tough on crime" firehoses, as well as there just plain being too many laws anyway.
The need to keep this guy in custody and away from "decent people" means the law is stretched to an absurd degree just to find something to charge the guy with.

This is essentially the same reason Al Capone was finally brought down by tax evasion.

Duncanwii posted...

Probably die.

We die with them. Giving the worst people power doesn't help us.

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The Popo posted...

Good. Riding a train while poor is a serious crime. Hopefully he pays for the EMT & hospital bills that were ordered on his behalf as well.

Don't forget misdemeanors like existing while poor and breathing while poor.

But really the cop is the hero in this situation, by trying to give him 3 hots and a cot for 7 years
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Lost_All_Senses posted...

We die with them. Giving the worst people power doesn't help us.

It'll be far, far worse if there weren't any cops... C'mon now.

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Lathissamus posted...

It'll be far, far worse if there weren't any cops... C'mon now.

It's not even like people want no cops. We just don't want the ones with immunity, where they feel they can beat some one up and then sue them for it.

Btw, don't Amish people not have cops? Obviously that a very different lifestyle, but that just popped on my head.

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Lost_All_Senses posted...

We die with them. Giving the worst people power doesn't help us.

My parents raised me to respect the police and see them as friends and helpers. They would be appalled if I treated them the way CE does.
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Duncanwii posted...

My parents raised me to respect the police and see them as friends and helpers. They would be appalled if I treated them the way CE does.

Sometimes parents are wrong. But for you, it'll work out for many reasons. Same reasons it would still work out for me if I ignored everyone it doesn't work out for.

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funny, I'm appalled at the way the police have been treating my parents, friends and helpers.

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Crazy cop

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ugh pigs

I shot this guy, he stole my bullets!

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What the actual fuck... Jesus Christ.

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Did the homeless man really kick him or was that bs to charge the dick for his hand getting hurt after beating the man?
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nfearurspecimn posted...

Did the homeless man really kick him or was that bs to charge the dick for his hand getting hurt after beating the man?

Theres a video in the article. Homeless man swats the officers hand away first, then kicks at him. Then the police jacks him twice.

The kick was unwarranted, and I understand the reaction to attack back... but the cop also had like a 100 lbs weight advantage on the homeless man. Hes a tiny dude, and the cop could stand to skip a few meals.

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"Capitalism is voluntary" -chuds

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Duncanwii posted...

My parents raised me to respect the police and see them as friends and helpers. They would be appalled if I treated them the way CE does.

Just a few months ago you were scared to death that cops, in order to enforce quarantine, would shoot people if they so much took a step outside their doors. Now you're saying you respect the police and see them as friends.

Shut the fuck up, Duncan.

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RIP Man charged shot up to 97 assaults

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