Video of NYPD violent arrest over social distancing sparks outrage

A New York City police officer was stripped of his badge and gun and placed on desk duty after violently arresting a man for allegedly failing to comply with social distancing on Saturday.

The video shows the officer, Francisco Garcia, in plainclothes and no face mask attempting to tell 33-year-old Donni Wright to disperse by slapping him in the face, punching him in the shoulder, and dragging him down the sidewalk.

READ MORE: NYPD breaks up 4/20 party in violation of city mandate

According to a report from ABC7NY, Police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Frances O’Donnell said Wright “took a fighting stance against the officer” when he was ordered to disperse and was arrested on charges including assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.

In the video, Wright is not in the frame the entire time. When he is shown he is making what appears to be a clenched fist. Garcia asks him to, “stop flexing.”

 

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Several people reached out to me last night about this. It’s in Manhattan, and the young brother you see on the ground was simply a witness to the horrible case of police brutality at the beginning of the video. ⁣ ⁣ Mind you, 7,000 NYPD officers are out sick with the coronavirus and they are STILL out on the streets without masks and gloves. ⁣ ⁣ So when this young man walks up to check on the kids that were being brutalized, THIS OFFICER, with the Yankees cap, immediately begins firing his Taser, then starts punching and brutalizing the man who was UNARMED and non-violent and broke no laws. You can’t even say he interfered with a crime scene because he wasn’t even close to the kids. ⁣ ⁣ What this officer did here is illegal. When a cop punches and brutalizes someone, it’s just assault. They don’t have special punching privileges. When he is ramming this man’s head into the concrete, just because he likes it, that’s just assault. ⁣ ⁣ WHAT IS HIS NAME? ⁣ WHAT IS HIS BADGE NUMBER? Follow @grassrootslaw

A post shared by Shaun King (@shaunking) on May 3, 2020 at 5:22am PDT

The charges have been deferred pending further investigation.

The arrest highlights contradictions in how NYPD has been enforcing social distancing. Another couple on the same block were arrested with failing to comply with the standards moments earlier. Yet last month, hundreds of Hasidic Jews gathered in contradiction to social distancing standards as NYPD just stood by.

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 05: A man speaks as hundreds of members of the Orthodox Jewish community wearing face masks attend the funeral for a rabbi who died from the coronavirus in the Borough Park neighborhood which has seen an upsurge of (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic on April 05, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The NYPD assigned over 1,000 officers to enforce social distancing in the city as the temperatures began to rise going over 70 degrees this past weekend.

In other videos, NYPD officers are seen gently asking people to disperse and handing out face masks in city parks.

During the confrontation, Garcia and another plainclothes officer are seen yelling at bystanders to get back as one officer kneels on Wright’s neck and back. A bystander replies, “he didn’t even do nothing!”

Kumar Rao, a New York lawyer, and human rights advocate tweeted that “NYPD should never have been tasked with enforcing social distancing, mask-wearing, or quarantine rules.”

NYPD should never have been tasked with enforcing social distancing, mask wearing, or quarantine rules.

State violence and racist disparities we saw this weekend are the inevitable outcomes of police involvement. Will only continue to get worse. https://t.co/CMs6jGHwaS

— Kumar Rao (@KumarRaoNYC) May 4, 2020

READ MORE: NYPD cops seize boy selling snacks on subway in dramatic video

In an interview regarding the incident with Philadelphia’s 6ABC, Carolyn Martinez-Class, of Communities United for Police Reform, agrees. “This incident illustrates why public health professions and community partners should be responsible for social distancing education and creating norms – not police.”

The post Video of NYPD violent arrest over social distancing sparks outrage appeared first on TheGrio.

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Michael Jackson’s Son Prince Says His Father Would Be ‘Proud’ of His Charitable COVID-19 Relief Efforts

The generosity from one of Michael Jackson’s sons would make his father proud! Prince Jackson says his charitable efforts to help those in need during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic would make his father proud, according to People Magazine.

Earlier this month, Prince announced via his Instagram account the Heal Los Angeles partnership with Fresh N’ Lean. Heal Los Angeles’ goal is to help end child abuse, homelessness, and hunger.

“I’m super excited about our new partnership with @freshnlean and the @heallosangelesfdn. Not only are they helping us bring much needed food to underserved communities but they are made with organic ingredients, plated with nutrition in mind and delivered fresh.”

 

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I’m super excited about our new partnership with @freshnlean and the @heallosangelesfdn. Not only are they helping us bring much needed food to underserved communities but they are made with organic ingredients, plated with nutrition in mind and delivered fresh. I can’t wait to show you all the great things we can bring to LA when we work together. This is only the beginning for us and we are here to help our communities grow and thrive. We are very excited to be working with an organization that shares our passion to better the Los Angeles area and will be developing new ideas on how to better serve our communities.

A post shared by Prince Jackson (@princejackson) on Apr 4, 2020 at 9:20am PDT

“I would like to think that he would be very proud because I think this was one of his main goals, was not only to spread his message of positivity and happiness but to see it enacted in his kids,” Prince said in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight. “As a father, I think that’s what you want to do when you raise kids. You’re preparing them for the world and the type of person they’re going to be.”

Prince continued: “I’m very grateful that I have this feeling that it’s this collaborative ecosystem — we all need to help each other — and that came from the way that he raised us.”

 

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DJ D-Nice Is Hosting A Virtual Prom Party For Seniors Impacted By COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, schools from kindergarten all the way to college campuses have had to close, causing many institutions to cancel all their upcoming events. Many students have been forced to cancel their plans for important milestones including graduations and prom.

In light of the pandemic, many organizations have teamed up with notable celebrities for special virtual commencement speeches and celebrations. Luckily for the class of 2020, one DJ plans to keep the party going for prom while in quarantine.

DJ D-Nice became an unlikely breakout star during the coronavirus quarantine with his lively sets on Instagram Live garnering thousands of people to party with him virtually. Now the DJ is teaming with the social network platform, Houseparty, to treat the class of 2020 to a virtual prom party to remember.

Houseparty is a new platform with a mission to create the best “face-to-face” interactions for people to connect wherever they are. Teens and tweens alike from around the nation will be able to take part in the virtual event and attend prom free of charge exclusively through the social media platform.

The virtual prom will take place on May 7 at 8 P.M. EST with co-host Zack Bia. DJ D-Nice will have a special setlist for the prom audience and anyone who opens Houseparty at that time can pull it into DJ their own private prom with up to eight friends.

 

 

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It’s a Prom Party! We’ll be hosting a virtual prom on May 7th from 8-10pm ET in Houseparty with the help of @dnice and @zackbia. Open @houseparty at that time to pull their set into your own private prom party. #HousepartyProm #prom2020

A post shared by Houseparty (@houseparty) on Apr 28, 2020 at 3:04pm PDT

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DJ D-Nice Is Hosting A Virtual Prom Party For Seniors Impacted By COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, schools from kindergarten all the way to college campuses have had to close, causing many institutions to cancel all their upcoming events. Many students have been forced to cancel their plans for important milestones including graduations and prom.

In light of the pandemic, many organizations have teamed up with notable celebrities for special virtual commencement speeches and celebrations. Luckily for the class of 2020, one DJ plans to keep the party going for prom while in quarantine.

DJ D-Nice became an unlikely breakout star during the coronavirus quarantine with his lively sets on Instagram Live garnering thousands of people to party with him virtually. Now the DJ is teaming with the social network platform, Houseparty, to treat the class of 2020 to a virtual prom party to remember.

Houseparty is a new platform with a mission to create the best “face-to-face” interactions for people to connect wherever they are. Teens and tweens alike from around the nation will be able to take part in the virtual event and attend prom free of charge exclusively through the social media platform.

The virtual prom will take place on May 7 at 8 P.M. EST with co-host Zack Bia. DJ D-Nice will have a special setlist for the prom audience and anyone who opens Houseparty at that time can pull it into DJ their own private prom with up to eight friends.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

It’s a Prom Party! We’ll be hosting a virtual prom on May 7th from 8-10pm ET in Houseparty with the help of @dnice and @zackbia. Open @houseparty at that time to pull their set into your own private prom party. #HousepartyProm #prom2020

A post shared by Houseparty (@houseparty) on Apr 28, 2020 at 3:04pm PDT

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Controlling the Narrative: Meghan and Harry Reportedly Cooperated on an Upcoming Biography

Looks like Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have learned at least one valuable lesson about spin control after years of dealing with the press: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. The now semi-royal couple may currently be embroiled in a legal battle with several publications, but Deadline reports that they…

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