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.