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October 16, 2012

Video Shows Brutal Police Beating at Jewish Center in New York 
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In New York, two police officers are under investigation after video
emerged showing them brutally beating a young man inside a Jewish
community center in Brooklyn. The officers claimed 21-year-old Ehud
Halevy had attacked them during the incident last week. But surveillance
video appears to contradict that claim. Instead, it shows one officer
punching Halevy in the head, then delivering repeated blows while a
second officer appears to be holding him down. The second officer also
beats Halevy with her baton for more than two minutes. Police had
reportedly been called to the Alternative Learning Institute for Young
Adults when Halevy refused to leave after a center volunteer found him
sleeping on a couch. But a center director said Halevy had permission to
sleep there. Halevy was charged with felony assault on police and three
misdemeanors. Since the video emerged, the New York Police Department
and Brooklyn district attorney's office have both opened investigations.
One of the officers, Luis Vega, has been placed on modified duty. New
York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind condemned the beating.

Dov Hikind: "This behavior is unconscionable. And if not for the video
camera to record what happened, we might actually believe that Ehud
attacked the police officers. And he never did. He's charged with
felonies. He's charged with all kinds of crimes. And now I wonder how
many other times are New Yorkers charged with serious crimes, and there
is no video camera to tell the story."

 

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