Overseer NYPD Cops Charged with Assault for Beating & Hitting Defenseless Black Teen in the Face with a Gun during Violent Marijuana Arrest
Sunday, November 9, 2014 at 03:51AM From [HERE] and [HERE] "The video speaks for itself, doesn’t it?" Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said Wednesday about a brief video recording that led to two New York Police Department cops being charged in connection to the pistol-whipping assault of a 16-year-old Black boy. The boy, who was arrested for marijuana possession, ended up with broken teeth and bruises.
The officers charged in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Wednesday are David Afanador, 33, and Tyrane Isaac, 36, both nine-year veterans.
Officer David Afanador was charged with felony assault and misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a weapon and official misconduct and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Officer Tyrane Isaac was charged with misdemeanor assault and official misconduct. If convicted, Isaac faces a significantly shorter prison term of one year behind bars.
"By beating a 16-year old boy with their gun and fist after he raised his hands apparently to surrender, these police officers not only violated his rights but also trampled on their sworn oath to serve, protect and uphold the law,” D.A. Kenneth Thompson said in a released statement.
The 82-second video of the teen's August 29 beating was captured by a local Crown Heights business. The tape shows the boy running before eventually stopping and raising his hands, after which he is pummeled and taken to the ground.
The footage captured via surveillance video shows Kahreem Tribble apprehended by police after a chase in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Aug. 29. It is unclear what transpired between the police and Tribble, but an officer is clearly seen punching Tribble in the face. It does not appear from the video that Tribble had a weapon. After the initial punch by the officer, Tribble is then shown with his hands in the air retreating backward and eventually collapsing to the ground. As the video progresses, two officers are seen attacking Tribble, who is on the ground, and one officer is seen putting his gun back into his waist holster.
Thompson’s investigation contends that Isaac swung the first punch to Tribble’s head as he places his empty hands in the air and falls back against a storefront gate. It is believed to be Officer Afanador who runs up to the teen with his service weapon drawn and allegedly strikes Tribble in the mouth with his gun. Officer Isaac, the D.A.’s Office asserts, is captured on video allegedly punching the teen several times in the face while he was on the ground.
The longer video clip, the investigation further revealed, allegedly shows that Afanador was locating and retrieving a bag of marijuana that Tribble allegedly tossed before running away, approaching the teen with the bag and allegedly striking him in the face with it.
Officer Afanador has been suspended without pay; Officer Isaac was placed on modified duty and stripped of his badge and gun.
“What’s depicted on this video is troubling and warrants a thorough investigation,” Thompson said last month.
A third officer, Christopher Mastoros, who is seen on the film but did not take part in the attack, has not been included in the criminal investigation.
Afanador and Isaac surrendered to authorities Wednesday and were arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court before Justice Danny Chun.
Both officers were released without bail. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 8.
According to the D.A.’s investigation, Tribble allegedly suffered broken teeth as a result of the incident.
Thompson, the district attorney, said that the two officers are scheduled to appear in court next month. The officers remain released pre-trial. The cops' attorney, Stephen Worth, said there's more to the tape than meets the eye. "We’ve tried these cases in front of juries and we won these case in front of juries and I expect this to happen here as well," the New York Daily News quoted him as saying.
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