Newly released video footage shows two white NYPD officers “taunting” a group of African-American students as they walked down the street.
During the video, one of the officers, armed with a taser gun, is heard asking the teens if they want to “ride the lightning.”
The video, which was posted online by an associate professor of sociology at Brooklyn College named Alex S. Vitale, shows the two officers trying to move a group of kid away from the corner of Bedford Avenue and Campus Road by Midwood High School in Brooklyn on March 16, 2017.
The cops, one of whom who is holding a baton, appear aggressive with the teens as they move them on with one cop asking a student, “What are you going to do about it?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdyUeXAajN0
Via NY Daily News:
That’s when one of the officers is seen on video pulling out what appears to be his Taser.
“Do you wanna ride the lightning?” he asks on the footage, adding “you better walk away” as the rowdy youths cross the street.
CUNY Prof. Alex Vitale, who shot and uploaded the video, said that he didn’t know why the officers were there, but their actions appeared unwarranted.
“The whole interaction seemed like an abuse of authority,” said Vitale.
According to official New York City Police Department guidelines, tasers “should generally not be used on children.”
A spokesperson for the NYPD says they are aware of the video and are launching an investigation.
