Shocking video shows the moment several New York police officers brutally beat a cyclist who they had been riding slowly during a Black Li...
Shocking video shows the moment several New York police officers brutally beat a cyclist who they had been riding slowly during a Black Lives Matter protest in Brooklyn.
Pierce McCaffrey had been participating in a solidarity ride during George Floyd and Black Lives Matters protests along Manhattan's Nassau Street near Gold Street on Sunday at around 7.40pm when the altercation took place.
According to the victim and witnesses who filmed the wild scene, McCaffrey had only been riding slowly in an effort to keep demonstrators free from police aggression.
Footage shows a pack of officers pounce on the cyclist, with one throwing clear punches at McCaffrey's head.
Pierce McCaffrey had been participating in a solidarity ride during George Floyd and Black Lives Matters protests along Nassau Street near Gold Street on Sunday at around 7.40pm when the altercation took place
A cameraman - Mike Hassell - can be heard telling McCaffrey not to resist arrest.
'They started tackling me to the ground, punched me, put my hands behind my back, handcuffed me and threw me into the car,' McCaffrey explained to Streetsblog.
While police did use sirens for approximately 10 seconds, the cyclist stressed that officers did not provide a verbal warning or use the speaker to ask him to move out of the way.
'They were literally just pissed off because he was going slow,' cameraman Mike Hassell said. 'There was blood — they hit his head on the ground. It was such a vicious attack'
'They were literally just pissed off because he was going slow,' Hassell said. 'There was blood — they hit his head on the ground. It was such a vicious attack.'
McCaffrey was taken to the 72nd Precinct and placed in a holding cell for two hours. He was given a summons for 'disorderly conduct.'
Officers claimed that the conduct was the cyclist telling them: 'F**k you, pig.'
McCaffrey only suffered some minor bruises and scratches and realizes that things could have gone even worse if he was black.
McCaffrey was taken to the 72nd Precinct and placed in a holding cell for two hours. He was given a summons for 'disorderly conduct'
A number of people have taken to Twitter to share that cyclist have faced special focus during the protests
'I probably would have been in way more trouble physically if I was black,' he said. 'But it cemented my belief that they really just want to use violence. There was no procedure, they were just angry, it wasn't for any reason besides just anger. I've seen a lot of police brutality in the last couple weeks.'
The horrific beatdown from Sunday is currently under internal review, a spokeswoman for the NYPD said in a statement.
The video came just days before New York Police Benevolent Association President Mike O'Meara would claim in an impassioned rant that the media was 'vilifying' the department.
A number of people have taken to Twitter to share that cyclists have faced special focus during the protests.
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