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Video: Bronx Man Resists Arrest, Gets Beatdown From NYPD
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 8, 2014
Modified Sep 8, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 8, 2014
Modified Sep 8, 2014
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A man who questioned an NYPD officer about why he was stopped and frisked was beaten by half a dozen cops after he resisted arrest in the Bronx earlier this month. The violent arrest was captured on cell phone video and security camera video at the 157th Street building where 23-year-old Santiago Hernandez was sitting on the stoop with another man. Hernandez says that they were waiting for a friend when two officers gave them a patdown and emptied their pockets, finding nothing. Then, as you can see in the video, one of the officers slaps a handcuff on Hernandez after he sits back down.
Hernandez says that the officer tried to handcuff him only after he asked why he had been searched. Then, when he did not immediately offer up his other wrist to be handcuffed, the officers used force—which police are allowed to do in order to effect an arrest. Whether the force applied was excessive remains to be officially determined; Hernandez and his lawyers have filed a civilian complaint, and now the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating.
"She just was telling me to put my hands behind my back, but I'm like trying to understand what are you are arresting me for. 'Can you please tell me?'" Hernandez tells ABC 7. He explains that he was soon being pummeled by multiple NYPD officers arriving at the scene.
"They was taking turns on me," Hernandez recalls. "One kicks me, he steps back. Another one comes to punch me and he steps back. And another one comes and grabs my arm and hits me like 10 times with the baton. Another one comes and pepper sprayed me, they were taking turns like a gang."
Hernandez sustained minor injuries to his arms and legs, and was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. (The Bronx DA has declined to prosecute.) Hernandez was reportedly on parole at the time of his arrest, having spent six years in prison for gang assault when he was 14.
Mayor de Blasio has previously reminded New Yorkers to let police arrest them.
Tagged
nypd
police brutality
resisting arrest
the bronx
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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