NYPD Officer Brutally Assaults Man In Synagogue

[lunasun]

9. Recent events have shown that there is a very clear need for additional oversight of the NYPD.......

he man, Ehud H. Halevi, had permission to sleep at ALIIYA, which is a synagogue and outreach center for troubled youth serving the local Jewish community, when two officers from the 71st Precinct confronted him last Monday night. After Mr. Halevi told the officers he had permission to stay at the center, the two officers attempted to arrest him. When Mr. Halevi turned away from the officers, one of the officers immediately assumed a boxing stance before punching the defendant numerous times and continuing to attack the defenseless man. Both officers then proceeded to repeatedly beat Mr. Halevi with their fists and batons dozens of times. After several minutes, the officers placed him into custody with the help of ten additional police officers.

The entire episode was captured on surveillance cameras inside the center. Ironically, the victim was charged with felony assaulting a police officer and four misdemeanor charges before being released on bail.

“These appear to be two of the worst members of the NYPD. It is an embarrassment to the entire outstanding police department that two trained and armed police officers were unable to arrest this individual without resorting to the disturbing violence clearly shown on the video. By my count, one officer punched the victim over 20 times after he was already subdued. That's insane,“ said Greenfield. ”I am calling on the NYPD to do the right thing and fire these two officers. I have also asked the District Attorney's office to investigate these officers for possible criminal behavior in their assault on this defenselessness man. We must send a message that this type of violence against New York City citizens by anyone, much less police officers, will not be tolerated,” said Councilman David G. Greenfield.

Greenfield also noted that this was why he is supporting new legislation to establish an Inspector General of the NYPD. “Recent events have shown that there is a very clear need for additional oversight of the NYPD. That is why I am co-sponsoring legislation that would appoint an Inspector General to oversee the daily operations of the NYPD to prevent incidents like these from happening again.”