Rough Arrest Of Theft Suspect Draws Controversy In Sunset Park
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Controversy was mounting in Sunset Park, Brooklyn Wednesday night, after a suspect was roughed up as he was arrested for allegedly stealing from an emergency medical technician.
Around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, the EMT – who worked for a private agency and not for the FDNY – witnessed the suspect breaking into his vehicle and stealing his uniform, his cellphone and other items, police said.
The EMT flagged down police and alerted them to the robbery, police said.
The NYPD used an iPhone app and found the suspect at a bodega at 5424 Fourth Ave. in Brooklyn, police said. The suspect was inside the bodega and was caught with the cellphone and arrested, police said.
Surveillance video showed the EMT and two NYPD officers walking into the bodega. The suspect is surrounded, and force is used to get him to the ground.
People in the neighborhood said the force used for the suspect's arrest was uncalled for.
"It's appalling. It's disrespectful," said community activist Daniel Flores of El Grito Sunset Park. "Everybody's entitled to due process. If he did commit the crime and he didn't resist, and he's being placed under arrest, all of that wasn't necessary."
The suspect -- Daniel Shevchenko, 21, of Staten Island -- was charged with grand larceny, unauthorized use of a vehicle, resisting arrest, and criminal possession of stolen property.
The incident is being reviewed by the NYPD Internal Affairs.