New York cops were beating a man in the street when they realized they were being watched, so they first went after a woman who was standing on a sidewalk just outside her property, pouncing on her inside the property after one officer accused her of standing on his sidewalk.
Then, after spending almost a minute arresting that woman, Rochester police realized a man was video recording them, so they went after him too.
Clarence Thompson’s phone continues to record for more than two minutes after the cop snatches it from his hands and places it on a car.
“How do you turn this off?” the cop asks before it goes off.
Thompson uploaded the video to Facebook on Thursday with the following caption.
> Going home after work and the Rochester police department beat up a guy an slam a girl on the ground.They arrest me and impound my car. This is crazy.
We have reached out to both Thompson and the Rochester Police Department for more information, so we will be updating this article when we obtain that information.
But it’s going to be difficult for police to defend both arrests and maybe even the initial arrest because the woman they arrested for standing on the sidewalk is standing at least a half-block from the initial arrest just outside a fence.
“You were told to leave multiple times,” the cop tells her. “You either leave now or go to jail.”
“I live right here, I can’t go nowhere,” she responds.
“Get on the property, get off my sidewalk,” the cop tells her.
“Yes, this is my sidewalk,” he reiterates after she questions his claim of ownership of the tax-funded walkway that was not blocked off by any crime tape.
The woman begins to walk inside the gate when the cop chases after her anyway, dragging her down inside the property as her friends look on in shock, including a child who begins to cry.
At least two more cops also rush into the property to take part in the unlawful arrest, which was when Thompson, who was sitting in his car recording, steps outside to get a better angle, remaining on the sidewalk.
“That’s bullshit,” Thompson exclaims as the three cops pile on top of the facedown woman with their knees, poking and prodding her on her own property for the crime of standing on a public sidewalk.
One of the cops, wearing black gloves and dark sunglasses, walks back to the initial scene where at least one cop is sitting on top of the man they initially arrested, who is moaning in pain, when the cop doubles back and confronts Thompson.
“You’re under arrest,” the cop tells him, never once providing a lawful reason for the arrest.
