Queens cop kneels on man during arrest, drawing George Floyd comparisons

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A screenshot from cellphone video recorded at the scene shows the office kneeling on a man’s neck during an arrest. Image via Legal Aid

A screenshot from cellphone video recorded at the scene shows the office kneeling on a man’s neck during an arrest. Image via Legal Aid

By David Brand

An NYPD officer in Queens appeared to kneel on the neck of a Black man during a chaotic misdemeanor arrest Jan. 2, an incident recorded on cell phone video that drew immediate comparisons to the police killing of George Floyd eight months earlier.

Two videos from the scene show an unnamed officer kneeling against Sircarlyle Arnold, 34, while bystanders scream for the cop to remove his knee. Arnold, a Long Island resident, is charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment, four vehicle traffic offenses and misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Arrest maneuvers that restrict someone’s ability to breath — like a chokehold or kneeling on a person’s neck — have been banned by the NYPD and recently criminalized by the city.

The arrest occurred near 113-08 Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica shortly before 7 p.m., according to the criminal complaint. Before the takedown, Arnold and about 50 others were driving ATVs and dirt bikes during a memorial ride for a friend who died, his attorney Olayemi Olurin told the Eagle.

Olurin, a Legal Aid lawyer, said an officer “tapped” on Arnold’s ATV to tell him to stop riding. When Arnold dismounted, he fell on the ground and multiple officers tackled him, she said. 

One appeared to kneel on his neck, the two cell phone videos show.

“It obviously reminded me of George Floyd and that’s what makes it especially egregious,” Olurin said. “It’s not just the misconduct or brutality of it all. It’s more so the gall to do something so specific that received national if not international outrage.”

A 19-second video that Olurin posted on Twitter Tuesday night shows the intense scene, with at least one officer kneeling on the neck of Arnold, who is pinned to the ground in a red and black helmet. Onlookers demand the officer remove his knee.

“Why you got your knee on his face?” a man shouts in the video.

“Look at his knee,” the same man repeats nine times. “Look at his knee on his neck.”

“Take your knee off,” another woman screams.

A separate 65-second clip shows the officer kneeling on Arnold’s neck as a large, frantic crowd forms. The video then shows three cops, two without masks, pinning Arnold to the pavement near the curb.

The officer could clearly “hear the people screaming, but not once does he move his knee,” Olurin said. 

She and Legal Aid have urged Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to dismiss charges and to prosecute the officers involved in the arrest.

“I want my client’s charges dismissed as quickly as they brought them and I want these officers reprimanded. I want them terminated just as quickly,” Olurin said.

Arnold was arraigned Jan. 3 in Queens Criminal Court. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 24.

A spokesperson for Katz said prosecutors are reviewing the case and the allegations against the officers involved in the arrest.

“We are aware of the allegations against NYPD officers in the case of People v. Sircarlyle Arnold. Our Public Corruption Bureau is in the process of reviewing all evidence in this case, including the officers’ body worn camera videos,” the spokesperson said.

After the city’s police chokehold misdemeanor law took effect, Queens prosecutors charged NYPD Officer David Afanador with strangulation and attempted strangulation after he restrained a suspect on a Rockaway boardwalk in June 2020.

Arnold’s criminal complaint names 113th Precinct Officer Thomas Montario as the arresting officer, though it is unclear if he is the cop who used his knee to pin Arnold to the ground.

The complaint states that Arnold was driving his ATV, or quad, “in circles in the roadway, causing a public disturbance and shutting down northbound and southbound traffic.”

Arnold “swung the quad so close to the officer that he had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck,” the complaint continues.

A search of ProPublica’s Civilian Complaint Review Board complaint tool and Legal Aid’s CapSTAT police lawsuit database did not yield any complaints or lawsuits filed against Montario.

An NYPD spokesperson said the department is “aware of the incident and it is under internal review.”

The department’s Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the arrest and knee restraint, according to a person familiar with the case.

Councilmember Adrienne Adams, the new chair of the public safety committee, called Arnold’s arrest “disturbing” and demanded the NYPD release body camera footage from the incident.

“The NYPD body camera footage of the arrest must be released in good faith. We need the NYPD to be in full compliance with the law as we cannot allow the excessive use of force in our justice system,” Adams said.

Additional reporting by Rachel Vick.