NYPD officer Joel Edouard also pulled a gun from his holster during a struggle with a man named Jahmiel Cuffee who was suspected of smoking a joint.
Edouard also stormed off from the struggle at around the 1:15 mark, walks down the street, then returns and kicks Cuffee in the head at around the 1:45 mark.
The crowd gasps as another cop pushes him away.
The joint was never found, so police claim he had tossed it on the ground when he spotted them, but they were so busy abusing him that they lost track of the alleged joint, which is why they charged him with attempted tampering with evidence, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.
The incident took place July 23, less than a week after the video showing an NYPD choking Eric Gardner to death went viral and raised awareness about police brutality to those who had not been paying attention. Charges were dismissed against Cuffee in December.
On Tuesday, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office is expected to make the formal announcement of the indictment.
However, the New York Daily News broke the story tonight.
A cell phone video captured the officer giving the boot to 32-year-old Jahmiel Cuffee on July 23 during an arrest in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
“Help me!” Cuffee pleads as several cops hold him down.
Edouard can be seen briefly pulling a gun, then putting it back in his holster. He walks away, returns and appears to kick Cuffee in the head, prompting another cop to push him and the crowd to gasp.
Cuffee, who has a 2-year-old son, has said he suffered scrapes and bumps.
Officers alleged they saw him throwing away a joint, but he was only charged with attempted tampering with evidence, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest, records show.
“There was no evidence of marijuana,” a law enforcement source said.
In November, the Brooklyn DA’s office indicted two officers who were seen on surveillance video punching and pistol-whipping a teen who was also being busted for marijuana possession. Those cases, one of which is a felony, are pending.
Edouard, 36, who’s been on the force for eight years, faces a year in jail if convicted. But he probably won’t serve a day in jail.
