Video Shows NYPD Officer Striking Man in Head with a Nightstick for Attempting to Fare Beat



Video of an NYPD officer beating a young man with a nightstick to his head for attempting to evade a subway fare was posted online Friday.



Police confirmed, according to Gothamist, that the footage shows an officer detaining 20-year-old Donovan Lawson after he attempted to jump a turnstile at the Myrtle Avenue-Broadway in Brooklyn. According to the police, the officer drew his nightstick and struck Lawson after the man had resisted being put in handcuffs. The video, apparently captured by a bystander with a cell phone, shows the officer strike Lawson below his waist, then over his head, lacerating the young man's face.


Lawson is then seen trying to get away from the officer, who aggressively grabs him, shoving him around the station entrance. Gothamist reported that Lawson, was taken to Woodhull Hospital and treated for cuts to his head, while the officer was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and treated for injuries to his hand and arm.


Lawson has been charged with fare beating, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing government administration. Meanwhile, the NYPD Internal Affairs department is reportedly investigating the incident.