Did this smartphone save the day?
As the debate rages on over police brutality in the U.S, dramatic footage has emerged of a police officer threatening a crowd of onlookers with his firearm while he restrains a man.
The NYPD officer has now been stripped of both his gun and badge after the video showed him pointing his weapon at those filming him, and he reportedly punched one of the bystanders in the face.
According to New York Daily News, the officer was arresting an illegal dirt bike rider at an apartment building in Harlem when he drew his gun and aimed it at those stood watching.
In another video, the same officer is seen punching someone videoing him.
The 32nd Precinct officer’s name has not been released, but we do know that he’s been placed on ‘modified duty’ while the incident is investigated.
According to an NYPD spokesperson, the man being arrested in the video is Dayshawn Bettway, 21, who was suspected of circling cops on dirt bikes when they stopped a grey Hyundai which was illegally parked on the street.
They later learned that the car had been stolen in Connecticut and they discovered marijuana along with 25 rounds of live ammunition inside.
Bettway was later charged with assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.
Meanwhile, the man who was punched in the video, 19-year-old Jahnico Harvey, was given misdemeanor charges of menacing and disorderly conduct, a police spokesman said.