A “horrifying” video posted on Twitter late Wednesday appears to show at least three NYPD officers beating a cyclist with batons in the street, prompting a swift condemnation by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro.
The viral video shows a cyclist trying to get away from an officer wearing a helmet and wielding a baton, but the officer follows the cyclist and begins repeatedly striking the person’s upper right leg. Two other cops, also with batons, then start hitting the cyclist, forcing the person off the bike before the short video abruptly ends.
Ocasio-Cortez and Julián Castro denounced the scenes caught on camera.
The viral “Horrifying,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “This isn’t a problem of bad apples or incidents. This is an institutional and systemic crisis.”
Castro wrote that violating the city’s 8 p.m. curfew is “no excuse for senselessly beating someone.”
People stuck in traffic are witnessing NYPD beat up folks on their way home. pic.twitter.com/AkUGPQQOIf
— Josh Fox BlackLivesMatter (@joshfoxfilm) June 4, 2020
Horrifying. You start with the tiny possibility that two officers may be walking over to deescalate the abusive one.
Instead, they join in beating a man trying to get out of traffic.
This isn’t a problem of bad apples or incidents. This is an institutional and systemic crisis. https://t.co/eoBXXnNXZV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 4, 2020
Breaking curfew is no excuse for senselessly beating someone on their way home @NYPDnews. pic.twitter.com/uKJSFWcEsA
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) June 4, 2020
The NYPD is yet to comment on the video.
