Thomas Tracy
An NYPD cop caught on video throttling at least two protesters at a lower Manhattan immigration rally has been disciplined by the department, the Daily News has learned.
© Jefferson Siegel
Police Officer Numael Amador was found guilty of “using excessive force to clear a crowd of protesters” and “failing to report an incident in which force was used," in an departmental trial, documents acquired by The News reveal.
Amador was ordered to fork over 30 vacation days and was bounced by the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, an elite team of highly trained, heavily armed cops dispatched to respond to active shooter events, potential terror attacks and scenes of civil unrest.
He was accused of grabbing a pair of protesters by the throat as he and other officers tried to push back people rallying against the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit on Jan. 11, 2018.
The demonstration began as a peaceful march outside 26 Federal Plaza, but spun out of control as news spread that immigration activist Ravi Ragbir had been detained by ICE agents for deportation.
The crowd’s anger swelled as protesters spotted an ambulance taking Ragbir away, sparking clashes with police.
Eighteen people were arrested, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan).
Rodriguez hopes Amador has changed his behavior since being reprimanded.
“I hope the discipline the officer received will help him understand that he should conduct himself in a different manner as he maintains our safety and security as well as protester rights,” Rodriguez said. “I personally witnessed the way he was handling the protesters that day and for me it was so disappointing to see how a that officer was conducting himself.”
Ragbir remains in the U.S. as he fights his deportation.
The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau brought excessive force charges against Amador in April 2018. He was found guilty and disciplined in August, according to department records.
Amador is now assigned to a patrol unit at the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway, Queens.
The NYPD would not comment on the disciplinary measures, citing section 50-a of New York State’s civil rights law that prevents the public release of information about police disciplinary actions unless ordered by a judge. NYPD critics and transparency advocates have been pushing to get the law repealed.
An email to Amador was also not returned.
On July 11, 2017, about six months before his clash with protesters, Amador was named a “Hero of the Month” by former cop and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for helping arrest a man who sucker punched a Bedford-Stuyvesant father into a coma.
Police Officer Numael Amador was found guilty of “using excessive force to clear a crowd of protesters” and “failing to report an incident in which force was used," in an departmental trial, documents acquired by The News reveal.
Amador was ordered to fork over 30 vacation days and was bounced by the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, an elite team of highly trained, heavily armed cops dispatched to respond to active shooter events, potential terror attacks and scenes of civil unrest.
He was accused of grabbing a pair of protesters by the throat as he and other officers tried to push back people rallying against the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit on Jan. 11, 2018.
The demonstration began as a peaceful march outside 26 Federal Plaza, but spun out of control as news spread that immigration activist Ravi Ragbir had been detained by ICE agents for deportation.
The crowd’s anger swelled as protesters spotted an ambulance taking Ragbir away, sparking clashes with police.
Eighteen people were arrested, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan).
Rodriguez hopes Amador has changed his behavior since being reprimanded.
“I hope the discipline the officer received will help him understand that he should conduct himself in a different manner as he maintains our safety and security as well as protester rights,” Rodriguez said. “I personally witnessed the way he was handling the protesters that day and for me it was so disappointing to see how a that officer was conducting himself.”
Ragbir remains in the U.S. as he fights his deportation.
The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau brought excessive force charges against Amador in April 2018. He was found guilty and disciplined in August, according to department records.
Amador is now assigned to a patrol unit at the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway, Queens.
The NYPD would not comment on the disciplinary measures, citing section 50-a of New York State’s civil rights law that prevents the public release of information about police disciplinary actions unless ordered by a judge. NYPD critics and transparency advocates have been pushing to get the law repealed.
An email to Amador was also not returned.
On July 11, 2017, about six months before his clash with protesters, Amador was named a “Hero of the Month” by former cop and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for helping arrest a man who sucker punched a Bedford-Stuyvesant father into a coma.
No comments:
Post a Comment