NEW YORK — An NYPD officer seen on video shoving a young woman to the ground during a Brooklyn police brutality protest now faces criminal charges.
The officer, Vincent D’Andraia, is charged with criminal mischief, harassment and menacing, said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Video shows the officer forcefully shove the young woman during a May 29 protest over the killing of George Floyd. She struck the pavement and went to the emergency room.
“I fully support the long-held American tradition of non-violent protest. As District Attorney I cannot tolerate the use of excessive force against anyone exercising this Constitutionally guaranteed right. This is especially true of those who are sworn to protect us and uphold the law,” Gonzalez said. ‘I am deeply troubled by this unnecessary assault. We will now seek to hold this defendant accountable.”
The cop is one of two officers who have been suspended without pay from the NYPD for their actions at protests. The other suspended officer was seen pulling down a protester’s mask to pepper spray him.
D’Andraia is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Brooklyn criminal court on charges of third-degree assault, fourth-degree criminal mischief, second-degree harassment and third-degree menacing, the district attorney said. The 28-year-old cop is assigned to the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville.
According to the complaint, he told the protester to move and when she asked why, smacked her cellphone out of her hand and violently shoved her to the ground. She rolled into a curb, while D’Andraia and other officers kept walking.
The woman he shoved, Dounya Zayer, 20, has said he called her a “stupid f---ing bitch” and shoved her so hard she slammed her head into the street, causing seizures, a concussion, bruising and cuts.
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