Cop Body Slams Handcuffed Teen, Saugerties NY

I don't really have much information about this case at all. The video was submitted to me anonymously. I don't know why police were called, or what they claim as grounds for arrest.

What we do see though, is a suspect being led away in handcuffs, who is quite upset and running his mouth to some degree. Not a good idea, but not exactly criminal either.

We then see the first officer lean the suspect against the patrol car as he begins a pat down search, according to standard procedure. The suspect willingly and of his own volition leans forward on the hood of the car. At that point, a second officer comes along, and leans on the suspect's neck grinding his face into the hood of the car.

It is important to note that up to that point, the suspect's belligerence had been limited to shouting a few times. He had made no physical resistance, attempted no assault against the officers, and made no attempts to escape custody. It was not until AFTER the second officer applied, what might be construed as excessive and unnecessary force, that the suspect became physically unruly. The suspect's physical resistance is then limited to standing up straight, rather than having his face pressed into the hood, and trying to shake off the officer's grip on his arm.

Officer #2, the same officer who had pressed the suspect's face into the hood, then engages the suspect with escalated use of force. First trying to push the handcuffed suspect face-first on the sidewalk, and then hip-tossing the suspect to the ground. Again, keep in mind that this suspect is already in handcuffs, and then screams that he has suffered serious injury to his wrist, which is quite likely.

While I have seen more clear-cut cases of police abuse, it is my opinion that excessive force was used here. Granted, the suspect was not cooperative, but it appears to me that it was Officer #2 who deliberately and without cause escalated the situation at each step of his interaction, quite possibly causing injury to the person in custody.

Patience is clearly not a virtue of Officer #2, whereas the actual arresting officer did in fact show much more reasonable restraint in dealing with his suspect. 





There are comments available on the youtube page where this video is linked from.



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