Thread: Video Shows Man Getting Punched by Cop After Resisting Arrest in Harlem

Originally Posted by Objective Voice

I saw the video on FaceBook and my first thought was "What did the guy do to get arrested?" The cop asked him for his ID which he handed over without complaint. And then when the cop put his ID in is pocket and wouldn't give it back, that's when things began to turn ugly.

At no point did the cop inform the guy why he was being arrested (at least not that I heard anyway). Now, I understand the arguments that says that resisting arrest starts the moment the citizen refuses to comply with the police officer's instructions to submit to his authority, but under what grounds did the cop have the authority to restrain the guy? Again, what did he do?

From what I saw of the video, the man did NOTHING that justified being arrested. He defended himself against the cop's aggressive actions as the cop assaulted him, not the other way around. Frankly, I would have resisted too if a cop simply walks up to me, asks me for my ID, stashes it in his pocket and refuses to return it to me and then insists that I submit to his authority without informing me why I'm being arrested (not to mention never reading me my rights).



Wait a minute...

Let's get it straight. The cop threw the first punch. The guy did everything he could not to make physical contact with the police officer.

And NO! I'm not going to just submit to an allegation that I had a weapon on me when no one not even the police actually saw it - at least not without first having the situation explained to me as to why you want me to submit to a pat down. That's unlawful search and seizure followed by unlawful arrest. BTW: Wasn't stop and frisk halted in NYC recently anyway?

While he may have had a case, and still has a case against the officer, his fight with the officer could have been avoided. If he had proof that he was detained unlawfully, then he has a case. But instead of cooperating, and taking the high ground, he decided to lower himself to the level of the officer. This is the lesson we should teach all those who involve themselves in a conflict with the law. If you are unlawfully being detained, then fight that battle in court where you wont be killed. And if that does not work, you can always reach out to the public who will protest your cause.

Originally Posted by GhostlyJoe

Being detained and arrested is a hardship regardless.

So is being knifed, shot, raped, robbed, or murdered. And before the NYPD began its stop-and-frisk policy these were all too common in some areas of the city.

Originally Posted by GhostlyJoe

I'm against officers detaining citizens without cause. I find the actions of this officer to be overbearing and, ultimately, abusive.

Me, too, but in this case why don't we just wait until all the facts are in before we come to conclusions (other than the fact that Mr. George used poor judgment when he resisted). Meanwhile:

Commissioner Bill Bratton defended the officers, who made the bust on Wednesday.

“You have no right, no right under New York law, to resist arrest, which was going on, based on what I’m seeing in that video,” Bratton said.

“The Internal Affairs group will now be reviewing the video, as we always do. But in my preliminary review of that, I saw nothing inappropriate with the officers’ behavior."

Video of NYPD cop boxing with hostile suspect under review | New York Post

Originally Posted by GhostlyJoe

Regardless, you're right that not resisting is probably in the guy's best interest, but there needs to be a serious upgrade in police accountability in this country. We shouldn't just tolerate this kind of harassment.

Neither should we tolerate uncivil behavior on the part of citizens. You can't demand freedom without accepting the responsibility that goes with it.

Originally Posted by Capster78

But instead of cooperating, and taking the high ground, he decided to lower himself to the level of the officer.

I take exception to that comment. While the officer's Walker impersonation might leave something to be desired, there is a point in the video just before the officer swings at Mr. George where we don't see what happens. Just because the officer's punch is the first one we see doesn't mean he threw the first punch. And even if he did he had every right to use reasonable force to detain Mr. George to effect an arrest.

Originally Posted by Ahlevah

Here's another idiot who doesn't know when to shut up:


Video Shows Man Getting Punched by Cop After Resisting Arrest in Harlem | NBC New York


People have been shot for less.

Well it's good the cop didn't shoot him, but it looks like he started that fight.

Originally Posted by Ikari

Well it's good the cop didn't shoot him, but it looks like he started that fight.

Well, no, Mr. George started it when he wouldn't submit to being cuffed. In the old days he would have been knocked unconscious with a blackjack plainclothes officers kept on their person.

Originally Posted by Ahlevah

Well, no, Mr. George started it when he wouldn't submit to being cuffed. In the old days he would have been knocked unconscious with a blackjack plainclothes officers kept on their person.

But for what? The cop starts pushing, the cop starts throwing punches. Before the citizen did anything. In any other situation, the one pushing and throwing punches first is the aggressor. The real question is, what did he do that he was being arrested?

Originally Posted by Ikari

But for what?

He was arrested for possession of a knife. Apparently, the officer saw a knife dangling from his pocket.

Originally Posted by Ikari

The cop starts pushing, the cop starts throwing punches.

That's because the officer is trying to effect an arrest and Mr. George is attempting to flee. George also threatens the officer at one point when he says, "I'm not afraid of you." The cop was well within his rights to use reasonable force to detain George:

An NYPD officer caught on cellphone footage trying to subdue a knife-wielding Harlem man appears to have clearly followed protocol, sources told The Post on Friday.
“The video actually helps the cop,” said a source familiar with the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau probe into Officer Jean Francisco.

“The perp was told to place his hands behind his back, and he adamantly refused. He was demonstrating active physical resisting,” the source said.

Another police source said the footage shows Francisco (the officer) was not the aggressor and that he remained in a “defensive stance” while under attack from suspect Saykou George, 30.

Finally, a video proves that hero cop did the right thing | New York Post

He got everything on camera.

Originally Posted by Ikari

But for what? The cop starts pushing, the cop starts throwing punches. Before the citizen did anything. In any other situation, the one pushing and throwing punches first is the aggressor. The real question is, what did he do that he was being arrested?

Resisting arrest is nothing?

Liberal logic.