NYPD officers hit with criminal charges, discipline over actions during George Floyd protests

Posted By: Staff
June 9, 2020 @ 12:35 pm
ABC National

Ben185/iStock

Ben185/iStockBy AARON KATERSKY, EMILY SHAPIRO and IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — An NYPD officer who allegedly violently shoved a protester to the ground has turned himself in Tuesday morning to face criminal charges.

The court appearance came before the department announced another officer is facing disciplinary actions for their use of force during the protests.

Officer Vincent D’Andraia, 28, was charged in a criminal complaint with assault, criminal mischief, harassment and menacing, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

The incident, caught on video, took place on May 29 while D’Andraia was assigned to monitor a large crowd of protesters by Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, prosecutors said.

D’Andraia told a 20-year-old woman in the street to move, and when she asked why, he “allegedly smacked her cellphone out of her hand, and violently shoved her to the ground,” prosecutors said.

She was “seen rolling on the street and into a curb,” but D’Andraia and other officers continued walking, prosecutors said.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said he’s “deeply troubled by this unnecessary assault” and vowed to “seek to hold this defendant accountable.”

D’Andraia will be arraigned Tuesday. He has not issued a statement.

Later in the morning, NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea announced an unnamed officer was placed on modified duty following an investigation into their actions during a May 29 protest in Brooklyn. The incident, which was also filmed, showed the officer open the door of their unmarked vehicle as they passed by a protester, striking the protester on their side.

Shea said the officer’s case has been referred to the NYPD’s Department Advocate office for disciplinary action.

“While the investigation is still ongoing, there is no doubt in my mind that based on the seriousness of what we’ve seen in recent days, transparency is critical,” Shea said in a statement.

On Friday, Shea suspended D’Andraia and another officer, who was filmed removing a face covering of a black protester and spraying him in the face with pepper spray during a May 30 protest.