NYPD suspends 2 officers after video shows them punching handcuffed suspect on ground
By Tom Hays, APFriday, January 22, 2010
2 NYPD officers suspended for beating suspect
NEW YORK — Two New York Police Department patrolmen have been suspended after a video surfaced showing them beating a handcuffed suspect during an undercover drug operation.
The footage was shot by a witness looking out an apartment window in the Bronx on Jan. 5. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says he decided to suspend the two as soon as he saw the video.
The video shows the two officers bending down to punch the suspect, Jonathan Baez, who was handcuffed and face down on the ground.
A lawyer for Baez says other officers seen milling about as the scene unfolded should be punished as well. The lawyer says drug charges against Baez have been dismissed.
Two supervising sergeants also are on desk duty, pending the outcome of the investigation.
