NYPD Sergeant Philip Wong, 37, is arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Courtroom for punching a 48-year-old man in a Harlem holding cell in October 2019, and attacking a 35-year-old man throughout an arrest in an Higher West Aspect subway station in April 2020
A New York Police Division sergeant was hit with assault expenses yesterday for allegedly slugging two handcuffed suspects on two completely different events in 2019 and 2020, certainly one of whom yelled anti-Asian slurs on the officer.
Sgt. Philip Wong, in handcuffs, pleaded not responsible to third-degree assault and tried third-degree assault, each misdemeanors, throughout a quick court docket look.
He has been suspended with out pay for 30 days as he goes on trial.
Just lately unveiled physique digital camera footage revealed how Wong, 37, slugged a 35-year-old man at a subway station on West 96th Avenue on April 29, 2020.
Wong is accused of kneeling on the person’s again and bouncing on it after he and one other cop arrested the suspect and handcuffed him on the bottom.
The person yelled ‘I am unable to breathe,’ in accordance with the indictment.
‘I do not give a f**okay should you can breathe or not,’ Wong allegedly replied, as he punched the person within the face, the New York Post studies.
The perp allegedly shouted anti-Asian slurs at Wong and kicked him.
The person was taken to the hospital, the place medical employees decided that he had not sustained any bodily accidents.
The incident is harking back to the 2014 Eric Garner case, the place Garner stated ‘I am unable to breathe,’ as an officer positioned him in a chokehold that led to his dying. Garner’s plea grew to become a nationwide rallying cry.
It additionally invokes the actions that led to the police killing of George Floyd final 12 months, whose dying reignited the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests for police reform.
One other physique cam video from 2019 exhibits that when Wong was assigned to Transit District 3, he ‘attacked’ one other man in a Harlem holding cell.
Based on court docket paperwork, Wong and two different officers had been escorting a 48-year-old man to his cell on the precinct on West 145th Avenue.
After the officers closed the cell door, the handcuffed man kicked the door and spit on the cops.
Sgt. Philip Wong, in handcuffs, pleaded not responsible to third-degree assault and tried third-degree assault, each misdemeanors, throughout a quick court docket look
Wong is accused of pushing the opposite officers out of the way in which to reopen the cell and punch the person within the face.
The suspect was transported to the hospital and handled for a laceration above his proper eye, which required stitches, ABC 7 reported.
‘When NYPD officers head into the sphere every day to face unknown and doubtlessly life-threatening conditions, they do probably the most tough jobs on this planet,’ District Legal professional Cy Vance stated in a press release. ‘However having sworn an oath to guard and serve their communities, these tough jobs must be carried out with the utmost integrity and professionalism, particularly by officers in management.
‘As alleged, this sergeant grossly violated his coaching and the legislation through the arrests of those two people, whose conduct didn’t justify these violent responses.’
Prosecutors requested that Wong serve a 60-day jail sentence.
Wong’s legal professional’s didn’t deny the accusations, however as a substitute tried to supply context.
‘Individuals on this metropolis really feel it is completely inside their jurisdiction and proper to easily name a cop something they need,’ the legal professional stated. ‘They usually’re proper. First Modification protects free speech. However in some unspecified time in the future, any individual’s acquired to begin to notice that cops don’t get paid sufficient to have racial and ethnic slurs hurled of their faces each single time they step out of a police automobile.’
The Police Division didn’t reply to questions on its investigation.
If convicted of assault, Wong could possibly be fired or compelled to retire, in accordance with the division’s disciplinary pointers.
He’s due again in court docket on Oct. 18.
The alleged incident occurred at a subway station on West 96th Avenue. Inventory picture of the NYC subway
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