A video showing multiple New York City police officers making an arrest on the subway went viral over the weekend, after it appeared that the NYPD used excessive force to conduct the arrest.
The video was posted on social media late last week, and shows chaos ensuing after a large group of police gather on the subway platform as they wait for the doors to open. Meanwhile, the man, who according to the local NBC-affiliate has since been identified as 19-year-old Adrian Napier, waits with his hands up, and does not look like he will resist the arrest. That didn't stop the numerous officers from wrestling him to the ground and placing him under arrest in the middle of the train car. Ava DuVernay was just one of many people who pointed out that the excessive force used by the police seemed disproportionate to the threat level posed by Napier.
Some people pointed out that those on the subway car were more terrified of the police, who had their guns out, than they were of the suspect.
According to the a statement from the NYPD, the officers were responding to witnesses who said they saw Napier with a gun. Napier reportedly fled after officers approached him, and jumped over the turnstile inside the station and ran onto a southbound platform to catch the 4 train. He was charged with theft of services. Per authorities, Napier was also allegedly "wanted for questioning in regard to a past larceny," though he hasn't been charged in connection to that crime.
