Punches thrown during Brooklyn man's wrongful arrest "were excessive," police expert says
A man was wrongfully targeted and injured during an NYPD drug sweep in Brooklyn on Tuesday. The arrest was captured on video and has since gone viral.
A police expert spoke to CBS News New York on Thursday about the altercation.
Punches thrown at Timothy Brown
The nearly eight-minute video circulating online shows Timothy Brown, a home health aide and security guard, being repeatedly punched by two detectives inside a liquor store on the corner of Hoyt and Baltic streets in Boerum Hill on Tuesday, just before 4 p.m.
The NYPD later admitted it was a drug operation that went wrong, saying the detectives were looking for someone wearing green shorts. Brown matched that description and said he was told he was part of "some type of investigation which I had no knowledge of and know nothing about."
"Once I got outside of the liquor store, they placed me in a van, leg pouring down with blood," said Brown, who was iniitially charged with resisting arrest. That charge was later dropped.
When innocent, compliance with police can be difficult, expert says
Former NYPD Lt. Darrin Porcher viewed the video and said there are different levels of resistance.
"So if they say, 'Put your hands behind your back' and you don't?" CBS News New York's Mahsa Saeidi asked.
"That's a perfect example of passive resistance," Porcher said, adding the video shows "clearly an example of passive resistance."
But even if someone isn't following instructions, the question is whether the officer's actions are objectively reasonable.
In this case, Porcher said the volume of punches "were excessive." He said people should comply with police, but when you're innocent, human emotions can take over and make immediate compliance difficult.
"This will not stop until we get some type of change"
Police said the community has complained about drug sales.
CBS News New York searched 311 complaints in five neighborhoods and found drug activity reports are on the rise, from 17 complaints in 2022 to 29 last year.
Quentin Heyward, a community activist and friend of Brown's, said "If [police] are doing sweeps, for drugs, it seems like they overstepped and they messed up."
Heyward's 13-year-old brother, Nicholas, was shot and killed by a housing officer in 1994 in the same neighborhood.
"I'm sorry. I'm getting emotional because I lost my brother at a young age," Heyward said. "So when things like this happen, it always kind of reignites an old stab, an old wound.
"This will not stop until we get some type of change and some type of correction in the minds and hearts of these police officers so they can do a better job of protecting their citizens," Heyward added.
