"Social distancing policing needs to END," say NYPD officers, as shocking video of cops brutalizing two East Villagers goes viral

[Mark Crispin Miller]

NYPD officers say coronavirus social distancing policing needs to end

By Vandana Rambaran | Fox News

https://www.foxnews.com/us/nypd-officers-say-coronavirus-social-distancing-policing-needs-to-end

Officers from the New York Police Department have decried city officials "get cops out of the social distancing enforcement business altogether," following backlash stemming from a violent confrontation with police over the weekend as officers tried to enforce the rules.

Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, lambasted city leadership, saying officers have received "nothing but vague guidelines and mixed messages, leaving the cops on the street corners to fend for ourselves."

As the weather heated up in New York City, the police department dispatched 1,000 officers on Saturday to break up large gatherings and enforce social distancing rules intended to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

Officials said over 112 summonses were issued in the city over the weekend for failing to obey social distancing orders and at least three people were arrested.

The arrests occurred in Manhattan’s East Village, where a plainclothes officer handcuffed two people, Shakiem Brunson, 31, and Ashley Serrano, 22, at a deli.

When officers approached a third person, 33-year-old Donni Wright, a confrontation occurred and the officer was caught on camera slapping Wright in the face, punching him in the shoulder and dragging him to a sidewalk after leveling him in a crosswalk.

The exchange was caught on video by a bystander and went viral on social media.

Click on the link for the rest.