The NYPD released body camera footage showing an altercation that took place during a ghost gun arrest in Harlem.
On Aug. 30, police say that officers from the 32nd Precinct were in the process of taking a man into custody. The man in question was allegedly carrying an illegal, loaded semiautomatic Polymer 80 handgun, known as a “ghost gun,” in his waistband, which police confiscated from him.
At the time of the arrest, authorities say that a struggle ensued and a crowd formed around the officers. During the encounter, a woman who was the suspect’s acquaintance began to interfere with the arrest and struck one of the officers. Bodycam footage shows the officer fending off the woman by hitting her with an open hand and shoving her to the ground.
The woman was seen on video on the ground until she was pulled up by officers and placed under arrest for Obstructing Governmental Administration. She remained conscious and was taken to an area hospital at her request. Two more women at the scene were also charged with interfering with the officers during this incident.
The incident, including the conduct of the officer who used force, is under ongoing review by the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau’s Force Group.
Bodycam footage released by the NYPD shows the altercation from two different angles. The video is currently awaiting the results of an internal affairs investigation. All police body-worn camera footage, as well as other video surveillance from the area and witness statements, are being gathered and reviewed.
“That just can’t happen. I tell New Yorkers all the time, don’t endanger yourself, and don’t endanger other officers, and don’t endanger the public. At a safe distance, you can video what the officers are doing, but you should never go inside a scene of apprehension. And if you look at the video, the young lady was inches away from the person who was armed with that gun,” said Mayor Eric Adams during a press conference on Sept. 1. “That action endangered those police officers, and you can’t do that as a civilian. And I take my hat off to those who apprehended the suspect, who showed great restraint to do so without discharging their weapons, who followed the rules and kept their video cameras on. That’s why we know what happened there.”
Updated at 1:53 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2022.
