EMTs: We Stopped NYPD Cops From Beating Handcuffed Mentally Ill Man
Two fire department emergency medical technicians claim they had to physically intervene when NYPD officers began beating a mentally ill man who was handcuffed on a stretcher, the New York Daily News reports. The medical workers have since turned the officers in, and the police department's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating.
The violence, which took place July 20 at the NYPD's 67th Precinct station in East Flatbush, allegedly began when the patient spit and cursed at cops. From the Daily News:
The officers responded by hitting him in the face, hauling him off the stretcher to the ground and then tossing him back on the stretcher, the EMTs said in written statements submitted to the FDNY.
The two FDNY emergency medical technicians were called to Brooklyn's 67th Precinct stationhouse between Rogers and Nostrand Aves. in East Flatbush around 7:30 p.m. to bring the patient to a nearby hospital.
A report filed by one of the EMTs claims the man was in handcuffs and foot shackles, and another alleges as many as three cops punched him in the face at once:
"Pt. came out of the cell in cuffs. Pt. became combative with PD and (was) put on our stretcher," wrote one EMT in the Unusual Occurrence Report filed with FDNY brass.
"Pt. was struck in the face by an officer ... pt. spit in the face of an officer, whereupon the officer punched the pt. in the face multiple times," the report said.
When the patient spit at the cop again, more cops started beating him, the EMT said.
"Three cops began to punch the patient in the face, EMS (had) to get in the middle of it to intervene. Pt's. wounds and injuries cleaned in the (ambulance)," the report said.
The man reportedly sustained injuries to his face and head.
