An NYPD police officer was stripped of his badge over the weekend after video surfaced of him aiming his service weapon at bystanders and punching a 19-year-old man who was filming. Risel Martinez was in pursuit of an illegal dirt bike rider in Harlem, with witnesses gathered around the officer and the suspect when the gun aiming incident took place.
NBC New York reports that Officer Martinez was struggling with the illegal dirt bike suspect at a public housing project on West 134th Street Thursday (May 19) night when several people gathered around and began filming. Martinez can be seen on video in the tussle, then he points his weapon in a threatening manner. In another clip, the plainclothes officer is seen punching 19-year-old Jenico Harvey in the face before wrestling him to the ground.
A report from NY1 adds that witnesses saw Martinez and another arresting officer wrestle the suspect to the ground inside the project building, and the suspect was not resisting. Despite this, the witnesses claim the officers punched the man in the face and slammed him thus the reason they began recording the event.
The NYPD has placed Martinez on modified duty and is currently investigating the video and the case itself.
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Photo: screen cap
