Queens cop on modified duty after videos appear to show him kneel on man’s neck, Mayor says
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A police officer was put on modified duty after cell phone video appeared to show him kneeling on a man’s neck during an arrest, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Image courtesy of Legal Aid
By David Brand
A Queens cop who appeared to kneel on the neck of a man during a Jan. 3 arrest has been put on modified duty pending an investigation, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
Two cell phone videos from the scene appear to show an unnamed officer press his knee against the neck of Sircarlyle Arnold, 34, while several officers restrained Arnold on the pavement of Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica. Arnold, a Long Island resident, was arrested after driving an ATV during a large memorial ride for a recently deceased friend. He is charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment, traffic violations and misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Chokeholds and other restraints that restrict breathing are illegal in New York City, and officers who use the banned restraints can face misdemeanor charges under a law enacted by the city last year.
After the videos became public, Mayor Bill de Blasio called the arrest “deeply disturbing” and demanded “immediate answers” from the NYPD in a tweet Jan. 7.
When asked by the Eagle Wednesday, 20 days later, what “immediate answers” he had received, de Blasio referenced the modified assignment.
“My understanding … is the officer was modified, that certainly constitutes an immediate answer,” he said. “The investigation has to be completed, and then if there are charges, there has to be, obviously, the due process.”
“So, I'm waiting to hear the results of the investigation. What I saw was one clip of video, but the investigation is going to look at everything and talk to witnesses and get the full picture,” he added. “What I saw I didn't like one bit, but I want to hear the results of the full investigation.”
In the two videos, one posted on social media by Arnold’s attorney and a second shared with the Eagle, observers can be heard screaming for the cop to remove his knee from Arnold’s head and neck.
His attorney, Olayemi Olurin of The Legal Aid Society, said one of the officers “tapped” on Arnold’s ATV to tell him to stop riding. When Arnold attempted to dismount, he fell on the ground and was tackled by multiple officers, she said.
“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.”
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is conducting an investigation into the restraint and arrest, but police have not publicly identified the officer involved.
Arnold’s criminal complaint names 113th Precinct Officer Thomas Montario as the arresting officer, but the NYPD has not said whether the kneeling officer was Montario.
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.
The criminal complaint states that Arnold was driving his ATV, also known as a 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 police spokesperson said earlier this month that the department is investigating the case internally.
The NYPD did not respond to a request for information for this story.
Legal Aid has called on Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to drop the charges against Arnold and to pursue a case against the officers who restrained him.
Queens prosecutors previously charged NYPD Officer David Afanador with strangulation and attempted strangulation after he used a banned restraint against a man on the Rockaway boardwalk in June 2020, shortly after the city enacted a law making police chokeholds a misdemeanor. Afanador’s most recent court hearing was adjourned earlier this month.
A spokesperson for Katz said earlier this month that the office is reviewing Arnold’s case and the allegations against the officers.
“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.
Additional reporting by Rachel Vick.
