NYPD Cop Violently Tackles and Strikes Bystander during Social-Distancing Bust

Related FileVideo out of New York City shows an officer brandishing a taser and repeatedly striking a bystander during a social distancing bust, a measure meant to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The run-in reportedly began when officers were trying to break up a gathering of people in the East Village on Saturday, which is prohibited under current lockdown measures in the city, RT reported.

The video shows police tussling with a suspect while onlookers ask aloud what they did. A man then approaches the incident, and the officer tells him to keep his stance while brandishing his taser.

The officer then yells at the gathered grows, cursing, and saying, “That’s right!” This policeman, along with many of the others at the scene, are not wearing protective masks, something that has typically been required of law enforcement.

“It started out as a social distancing enforcement,” Commissioner Dermot Shea on Sunday. “I am aware of the video that’s out there.”

The commissioner added that the incident is being investigated by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, and one of the officers has been placed on modified duty.

The witness who took the viral video, Daquan Owens, has disputed officers’ claims that people were not social distancing.