Police Brutality Against Street Vendors Gets Stark Exposure in Brooklyn
http://www.alternet.org/police-brutality-against-street-vendors-gets-stark-exposure-brooklyn
When an NYPD officer was caught on video kicking a man lying on the ground at a festival in Brooklyn Sunday night, it was seen as just another example of a cop abusing his power. But the 4:35 video of officers aggressively speaking with the vendors before taking Jonathan Daza down reminds many street service workers of how contentious their relationship with the NYPD can be.
Officers approached vendors demanding that they pack up their items.They were suppose to start packing at 6 p.m. but were given an extra hour. A female officer at the beginning of the video is seen yelling at the vendors, even when they claim they were leavng the area. One officer is then seen aggressively asking Daza's younger sister how old she is. When Daza tells her she doesn't have to give her age, the cop asked him to identify himself. It is unclear what Daza says in reply but the interaction quickly spiraled out of control and ended with him on the ground. That is when Officer Vincent Ciardiello, unprovoked, kicked him in the back.
He has since been suspended.
"I was very concerned by a video that was taken and the action of one of our officers who was seen kicking an individual," Bratton said Wedesday. The NYPD internal affairs bureau is investigating the incident.