Activists meet with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to discuss violent arrest in Brooklyn
A violent, wrongful arrest in Brooklyn that prompted outrage has civil rights leaders calling on the NYPD to take action.
Community activists arrived at 1 Police Plaza on Monday morning to demand change and accountability after the violent arrest of Timothy Brown last week in Brooklyn, which has enraged many in the community.
"We need them to be arrested"
Some of those activists spoke with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The Rev. Kevin McCall said Tisch spoke with him and Eric Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, and others, for about an hour.
During that meeting, Tisch discussed with McCall the changes that have been implemented in the wake of Brown's wrongful arrest inside a liquor store at Hoyt and Baltic streets in Boerum Hill. The changes were mandated prior to the meeting with McCall and the other activists, the NYPD said.
Three members of the NYPD involved in the operation were placed on modified duty, including two detectives and a sergeant.
"We also talked about the status of the officers, because there's an investigation that has to take place. But we need them to be suspended. We need them to be arrested. That's what real justice looks like," McCall said, adding, "We're going to take over this city and our neighborhood precincts if our demands are not met because something has to happen."
Meanwhile, Hawk Newsome, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, said he, too, had a meeting scheduled with the police commissioner on Monday morning, but said it was canceled.
The NYPD, however, disputes that account, saying Newsome and Black Lives Matter were never scheduled to meet with Tisch, so no meeting was canceled because it was never set to take place.
As courtesy, the NYPD said, when Newsome and BLM arrived at 1 Police Plaza, it offered to let them meet with people with Community Affairs.
Tisch pledged to enforce policy on body-worn cameras, Carr says
The NYPD said it's undertaking a 90-day review of the NYPD's narcotics section, including a review of policies regarding activating body-worn cameras during apprehensions, and increasing oversight of narcotics operations.
The officers involved in Brown's arrest were supposed to be wearing body cameras and weren't, according to the NYPD.
"It's so emotional to witness this, to have to come out again to speak on this," Carr said. "It's like another stab in the heart."
Carr's son Garner died in 2014 after an officer placed him in a banned chokehold.
She said Tisch pledged to enforce the department's policy on body-worn cameras.
"There's a lot of promises that she made, so we just have to hold her feet to the fire and see that this all comes to pass," Carr said.
New videos show Brown's arrest and another man in handcuffs
Exclusive video obtained CBS News New York shows the moments leading up to Brown's violent and wrongful arrest during a drug sweep in Brooklyn last week. Police said Brown was arrested because he matched the description of a drug dealer's associate who was wearing green shorts, but they later said he was not the person they were looking for.
As outrage grows over Brown's arrest, a new video is raising even more questions. It shows a second man in handcuffs near Hoyt and Baltic last Tuesday.
Maxwell claimed he was taken to the 84th Precinct, and released without charges.
The NYPD was asked why he was taken into custody and a spokesman replied, "There is not an arrest on file based on the information provided."
On Monday, CBS News New York obtained surveillance video from the store. An employee said it was recorded during that same drug sweep.
Maxwell said he is the man seen in cuffs. CBS News New York sent the video to the NYPD and the department responded with the same quote: "There is not an arrest on file based on the information provided."
