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Video: East Village Cops Throw Punches, Pepper Spray, But Make No Arrests
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 1, 2011
Modified Nov 1, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 1, 2011
Modified Nov 1, 2011
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Gripe all you want about those lame "fun" sized candy bars handed out at the Bloomberg Manor for Halloween, at least they didn't come with excruciating jets of spicy liquid. MyBlockNYC has a video shot Friday night in Alphabet City on Avenue A at 6th Street that shows Halloween weekend revelers being nonchalantly pepper-sprayed by a NYPD officer, before another tackles two men on the sidewalk.
A few people can be seen jeering at two NYPD officers entering their vehicle. One says, "You are a motherfucker…Way to go. Way to go." That's when both get back out, and one pepper sprays the whole lot with an air of bored nonchalance, as if he's watering the plants.
The man who shot the video tells us he "pretty much turned the corner and caught what was going on…I don't really know what happened leading up to it." Another witness says, Harlem resident Charles Eatman, tells us, "We don't know what started it, something must have just happened before I arrived. And then everyone was running trying not to get maced. They jumped one guy, and you can see three cops on him at once. And about five minutes after this ended, the cops drove away. As far as I know they didn't arrest anybody. But the guy in the video was visibly beat up. And they definitely maced at least a dozen people. Very strange."
We're still awaiting for a response from the NYPD on their version of the events, and will update as we receive more information. But the video raises one obvious question: where were all the Tony Bologna costumes?
Tagged
alphabet city
east village
halloween
nypd
pepper spray
tony bologna
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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