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Brooklyn Cops Allegedly Beat Handcuffed Man On Stretcher
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 5, 2014
Modified Aug 5, 2014
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Christopher Parypa / Shutterstock.com
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 5, 2014
Modified Aug 5, 2014
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FDNY EMTs say they had to physically intervene to stop a group of cops from beating a handcuffed patient they were trying to transport to the hospital. NYPD officers assigned to Brooklyn's 67th Precinct beat the emotionally disturbed man in the station house after he repeatedly spit on them, according to an FDNY report obtained by the Daily News. The incident occurred on July 20th when EMTs were called to transport the unidentified man to the hospital. According to one EMT's report:
"Pt. came out of the cell in cuffs. Pt. became combative with PD and (was) put on our stretcher. Pt. was struck in the face by an officer ... pt. spit in the face of an officer, whereupon the officer punched the pt. in the face multiple times."
"Three cops began to punch the patient in the face, EMS (had) to get in the middle of it to intervene. Pt's. wounds and injuries cleaned in the (ambulance)."
A second EMT involved says the patient was in "handcuffs and foot shackles" during the beating, and was repeatedly thrown to the ground, sustaining "injuries to face and head." According to the report, police only stopped assaulting the handcuffed man when the EMTs physically intervened.
An FDNY spokesman did not respond to our request for comment, but the NYPD says Internal Affairs is investigating. (Update: In an email, FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer says simply, "FDNY responded to the 67pct stationhouse on July 20 to treat and transport a patient to the hospital.") For more, we turn to ever-reliable cop message board NYPD Rant, where the discussion begins with, "Screw these two EMTs....this EDP was assaulting UMOS, spraying bodily fluids on them, and they lodge complaints against the officers...FU EMS."
Tagged
brooklyn
fdny
nypd
police brutality
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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