NYPD officer fires taser at Black Lives Matter protester after the man threw his helmet at police during clash with pro-cop demonstrators
A New York City police officer was filmed using a Taser to subdue a Black Lives Matter protester just moments after another cop shoved him in a violent confrontation in Brooklyn on Sunday.
But police claim that moments before he was shot with a stun gun, the same protester flung a helmet at uniformed officers as they tried to separate Black Lives Matter demonstrators from pro-police supporters.
Video posted to social media shows a black man who was wearing a backpack confronting a police officer while holding a cell phone in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn on Sunday.
The black man appeared to be intervening as an officer was dealing with someone who looked like a press photographer.
‘Get off of him,’ the man is heard yelling at the officer.
An NYPD officer shoots a Black Lives Matter protester with a Taser at close range during clashes between cops and demonstrators in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Sunday
The officer is seen walking toward the man after firing the stun gun at close range on Sunday
The man was momentarily electrocuted before he managed to remove the wires from the Taser that were attached to his body
He was then taken into custody by NYPD officers in Bay Ridge on Sunday
The officer then shoves the man backward. Almost immediately another officer moves into the frame and roughs up the black man, pushing him toward the sidewalk.
The man is heard asking if witnesses saw what took place. He appeared to be livestreaming or videotaping the events with his cell phone.
‘Did you all see it?’ the man is heard asking.
Moments later, the officer who roughed him up pulls out his Taser stun gun and shoots the man at close range, sending him to the sidewalk.
The impact of the Taser sends an electric shock through the man, who struggles to remove the wires that were attached to his body.
Moments before he was shot with a Taser, the man is seen (right) confronting a police officer who was manning the street during the demonstration
The officer is seen shoving the protester with two hands, knocking him backwards
Almost immediately, another officer (right) enters the frame and begins pushing the protester
After a brief scuffle, the officer takes out his yellow Taser and shoots the protester at close range
As the man rises to his feet, several police officers converge and bend his torso against a parked vehicle while they press his arms against his back.
‘Get off of me! Get off of me!’ the black man is heard repeating as he is being taken into custody.
The man is heard yelling at the officer: ‘You Tased me! I didn’t do nothing!’
As the officers take the man under arrest, he told them: ‘You’re breaking my arm!’
A crowd of onlookers accused the police of using excessive force. One of them is heard on the video demanding the badge number of one of the arresting officers.
The officers who are taking the man into custody appear to be urging him to stop resisting arrest.
Video shows officers take the handcuffed man into a police vehicle. The scene is tense as other protesters expressed anger at the officers over the incident.
The NYPD told DailyMail.com that the department was aware of the video and was looking into the matter.
The NYPD also sent DailyMail.com a link to a separate video that was filmed prior to the Tasing in which the same Black Lives Matter protester is seen hurling his helmet during a scuffle.
The video clip that was filmed shows Black Lives Matter supporters in a face-to-face confrontation with pro-police demonstrators who held rallies over the weekend in the same Bay Ridge neighborhood.
The NYPD said the man who was shot with a Taser is the same man (seen above) who threw a helmet at a uniformed officer who was trying to separate a group of Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter demonstrators in Bay Ridge just moments before
The scene was so tense that police officers tried to separate the two groups.
As NYPD officers struggled to keep the two groups apart, one of the protesters is seen taking off a helmet and throwing it in the direction of the pro-police demonstrators and the cops.
The protester appears to be the same individual that was roughed up and Tased just moments later.
On Saturday, some 400 people turned out in Bay Ridge for a ‘Back the Blue’ demonstration in support of the NYPD, but the atmosphere grew tense after they were met by some 20 counter demonstrators carrying Black Lives Matter signs.
They held signs and chanted slogans as they marched down Bay Ridge Parkway.
A counter-protester was arrested by the NYPD after a 'Back the Blue' rally in support of police in Bay Ridge on Sunday
Counter-protesters set a trash can on fire during a 'Back the Blue' rally in Bay Ridge on Sunday
A man was injured during a brawl after a 'Back the Blue' rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Sunday
NYPD officers former a wall to separate counter-demonstrators from 'Back the Blue' rallygoers in Bay Ridge on Sunday
NYPD officers come between Black Lives Matter counter-demonstrators and pro-police protesters in Bay Ridge on Sunday
Police officers escort a 'Back the Blue' demonstrator after he was surrounded by Black Lives Matter counter-demonstrators in Bay Ridge on Sunday
A supporter of the New York Police Department holds a sign praising the police and an American flag in Bay Ridge on Sunday
The demonstration was a rare one in support of police, who have come under fire for their tactics since the protests triggered by the May 25 death of George Floyd.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in the custody of Minneapolis police. During his arrest, he was filmed as one of the officers, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for more than 8 minutes.
Floyd’s death ignited nationwide outrage and sparked mass demonstrations and rioting in dozens of American cities.
The New York Police Department, which has been harshly criticized after several officers were seen using excessive force against protesters in the days and weeks following Floyd’s death, had its budget slashed by $1billion.
The city council’s decision has prompted warnings from pro-law enforcement circles that slimmer budgets for police will lead to less officers on the street and a rise in violent crime.
Demonstrators hold signs praising the New York Police Department during a Blue Lives Matter rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Saturday
One woman waves a 'thin blue line' American flag from the front seat of her car while another is dressed in what appears to be a Transformers costume during a Blue Lives Matter rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Saturday
Another man waves the Stars and Stripes from the front seat of a car during a Blue Lives Matter rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Saturday
So far this summer, several large American cities, including New York, Chicago, and Atlanta, have reported alarming increases in violent crime.
At one point during the rally, 20 counter-demonstrators carrying Black Lives Matter signs confronted some of the protesters.
After a few heated discussions, tensions fizzled and the rally proceeded without incident.
