Cop Stripped Of Gun After Allegedly Stomping On
Man's Head During Arrest
A cop has been reassigned to desk duty after
video surfaced showing him allegedly stomping on the head of a man he was
trying to arrest.
Cops say Officer Joel Edouard was attempting to
arrest suspect Jahmiel Cuffee in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Tuesday night, after he
allegedly spotted the 32-year-old man rolling a joint. Video shows Cuffee
resisting arrest after showing Edouard and several other officers his ID; the
officers wrestle him to the ground, and witnesses say Edouard then got violent.
"He abruptly stomped on top of the gentleman’s head,” Gary Dormer, who
took a cell phone video of the arrest, told PIX11. “He lifted his foot with
excessive force and came down like he was stepping on an ant or a roach or
something at the time."
The NYPD told reporters they were investigating
the video, and yesterday Edouard was placed on modified assignment. He was
required to surrender his gun and his shield. Cuffee, meanwhile, was treated
for neck and head injuries at a local hospital; he has been charged with
resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana.
This week's incident occurred just a week after
Staten Island man Eric Garner died after being put in a chokehold by an officer
during an arrest. That officer, Daniel Pantaleo, has also been placed on
modified desk duty, and has surrendered his badge and gun. Police Commissioner
Bill Bratton called for the "retraining of every member in our city Police
Department" following Garner's death.