'Help me!': Outrage over aggressive police arrest of black man in Brooklyn, after officer refuses to say what crime he has committed

Police suggest man was arrested after 'smoking lit marijuana cigarette' in park

A video of an aggressive police arrest of a black man in New York has sparked outrage after an apparent undercover officer refused to say what crime the man had committed.

In the video, a man claiming to be an undercover police officer stopped a member of the public near a playground in the Canarsie neighbourhood of Brooklyn at approximately 7:50pm on Wednesday night.

The black man, whose name is unknown at this time, repeatedly asked what he had done wrong as he was held against a metal fence by the officer, who appeared to be threatening him with a gun.

“What did I do? I did not do anything … can you answer my question? Look me in the eyes, I’m talking to you,” the man said.

“What crime did I commit? Tell me, what crime did I commit?”

About 90 seconds into the video, multiple officers in New York Police Department​ (NYPD) uniform ran towards the man and wrestled him to the ground.

The man, who said he was unarmed, could be heard repeatedly screaming “help me” as he was tackled and forced down by multiple officers.

“At first I thought it was two random guys and one guy was man handling the other so I was about to cross the street and then I saw the cop’s gun,” said the woman who filmed the video, which has been viewed more than 1.5 million times on social media.

“It was all unnecessary. And the fact that the cop would not identify himself in his street clothes when using police force and would not answer him when he asked what crime he committed is a complete abuse of power.”

The woman, who identified herself by her social media name “Velvet”, told The Independent that the last thing she saw of the man was when he was put into a police vehicle and driven away.

A NYPD spokesperson suggested the man had been arrested after "smoking a lit marijuana cigarette" in the park with another person.

The spokesperson could not say at this time if the man had been charged with any crime.

"On Wednesday, 5 March 2020 at approximately 1900 hours, 69 Precinct anti-crime officers were patrolling in the vicinity of 100% Playground located on Glenwood Road between East 100th Street and East 101 Street within the confines the 69th Precinct," Detective Denise Moroney said.

"The officers observed two males inside the park smoking a lit marijuana cigarette and as the officers approached the individuals, they fled the location.

"Upon apprehension, one individual was arrested and the second individual was issued a summons."

They added that the incident is now under internal review.

Rebecca Kavanagh, a criminal defence attorney and legal media analyst, said there was “no possible justification” for the aggressive arrest.

“Regardless of the reason for the stop (because I am sure NYPD will come up with a reason like a report of a gun) there is no possible justification for this horrific use of violence,” Ms Kavanagh said.

She added: “He [the black man] is fully cooperative. He doesn't do anything that would have needed more than one cop to calmly arrest him.”