Shocking footage has surfaced showing a woman falling backwards onto the concrete after being punched by an officer from the New York Police Department.
The video starts outside of an apartment building in Harlem where a number of cops showed up to arrest 22-year-old Elvin James, who was a suspect in an attempted murder case. CBS News has learned that the victim of the punch, Tamani Crum, showed up at the scene because she’s an acquaintance of James. A shoving match ensued before the officer hit Crum.
Content warning: The videos above and below depict police violence.
The cop stood over Crum as she seemed to be reeling while on the ground. She was eventually detained and charged with assault on an officer, obstructing governmental administration, and resisting arrest.
“The officer involved in this case was approximately three times her body weight and size,” the family’s attorney Jaime Santana Jr. said. “This was unnecessary and it’s unacceptable. This has to stop.”
Sources close to the NYPD tell CBS2 the department will launch an investigation into the incident but initially perceived the officer’s actions to be justified. TMZ has obtained a statement from the NYPD in which it appears Crum was among three individuals who were described as interfering with the arrest. “While police were effecting the arrest, multiple individuals on scene interfered by physically assaulting numerous officers,” the statement reads. “One officer sustained a minor injury to the head.”
Another woman received the same charges as Crum, in addition to menacing and harassment. A third woman was accused of spitting at an officer. Crum was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday night.
