Officers in violent arrest to face NYPD disciplinary charges

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer will face disciplinary charges for a violent arrest during a social distancing enforcement action that ended with him kneeling on a man's back or neck, a technique similar to the one that led to George Floyd's death in Minneapolis.

Several other officers involved will also face discipline, the department said Friday, after an internal affairs investigation into the caught-on-video confrontation May 2 in Manhattan’s East Village. Police did not specify what violations the officers are alleged to have committed.

Bystander video showed plainclothes officer Francisco Garcia pulling a stun gun on 33-year-old Donni Wright and leveling him in a crosswalk, slapping him in the face and punching him in the shoulder before dragging him to a sidewalk and kneeling on his backside to handcuff him.

Garcia was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty after the incident, which Mayor Bill de Blasio called “very troubling” and “absolutely unacceptable." He could still face criminal charges.

The Manhattan district attorney's office said Friday that it is “conducting an independent review of this incident."

A message seeking comment was left with Garcia's union.

The police disciplinary process sometimes involves an administrative trial, where a department employee acting as a judge hears testimony before deciding what, if any, punishment is warranted, such as a loss of vacation days all the way up to firing. The final decision is left to the police commissioner.

Wright was treated at a hospital after his arrest and has filed a notice of claim with the city, the first step before a filing a lawsuit. Prosecutors deferred charges resulting from his arrest pending further investigation.

Wright's lawyer, Sanford...