Officer Who Violently Shoved Protester in Brooklyn Is Charged With Assault
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The police officer, who was recorded knocking down a young woman who questioned his order, was arrested on Tuesday.
By Ashley Southall
June 9, 2020
Dounya Zayer was at a protest against police brutality in Brooklyn last week when she asked a police officer why he was ordering her to get out of the street.
He responded by shoving her violently back onto the pavement, where she rolled onto her side while clutching the back of her head, a cellphone video showed.
Not long ago, the Police Department probably would have handled the episode as an internal disciplinary matter that might have led to a reprimand or a loss of vacation days, if that.
But on Tuesday, after two weeks of nationwide demonstrations demanding more serious consequences for police misconduct, the officer, Vincent D’Andraia, 28, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault for injuring Ms. Zayer, 20, who was hospitalized with a concussion as a result of the encounter.
The arrest appeared to reflect the growing political pressure that the wave of protests have put on the authorities to hold officers responsible for misconduct, and to alter a status quo that has largely allowed those who are accused of violent acts to avoid severe punishment.
The police and prosecutors are considering bringing misconduct or criminal charges against as many as 40 more New York City officers involved in clashes with protesters, law enforcement officials said.
The protests in New York and elsewhere were ignited by the killing in police custody of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.
Officer D’Andraia was patrolling a protest when he encountered Ms. Zayer, who was taking part in it. The cellphone video of the episode, which was recorded by a Newsweek reporter and went viral after he posted it online, showed the officer calling Ms. Zayer a “bitch” and shoving her to the pavement. Officer D’Andraia’s precinct commander was next to him at the time, the video showed.
In addition to the assault charge, Officer D’Andraia was accused in a criminal complaint of criminal mischief, harassment and menacing over the May 29 episode. He did not enter a plea at an arraignment on Tuesday in criminal court in Brooklyn. He was released without bail and ordered to return on Oct. 15. His police union lawyer, Stephen C. Worth, did not return calls seeking commen
The Brooklyn district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, said he would not tolerate the use of excessive force against people exercising their right to peacefully protest.
“This is especially true of those who are sworn to protect us and uphold the law,” Mr. Gonzalez added.
Ms. Zayer’s lawyer, Tahanie Aboushi, said she and her client were disappointed that Officer D’Andraia would not be charged with a felony given how seriously Ms. Zayer had been injured. Ms. Zayer, who has been released from the hospital, has had seizures and headaches since the concussion, Ms. Aboushi said.
“The concern here is that there’s a presentation that justice is being served, and then when the system plays itself out for special interests like law enforcement, it will end up with a dismissal or some kind of violation,” Ms. Aboushi said.
“Dounya does not want that,” she added.
Officer D’Andraia, who had already been suspended without pay, turned himself in early Tuesday at the 84th Precinct in Downtown Brooklyn. He is the first New York City police officer to face charges over his conduct during the protests.
Officer D’Andraia appeared at his arraignment from a holding pen via a video feed. If convicted of the most serious charge, third-degree assault, he could be sentenced to up to a year in jail and be fined $1,000.
Patrick J. Lynch, the Police Benevolent Association’s president, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the officer who killed Mr. Floyd had committed murder. But he cautioned that “all the circumstances” needed to be considered before judging Officer D’Andraia.
Mr. Lynch said Mr. Gonzalez’s decision to charge the officer after saying he would not prosecute protesters for low-level charges like unlawful assembly was a “dereliction of duty.”
“You know what’s on the hearts and minds of everybody who has a shield in their hip pocket today — that who the D.A. did prosecute was a police officer whose boss sent him out there to do a job, who was put in a bad situation during a chaotic time,” Mr. Lynch said.
Several other episodes that were captured on video are being investigated, the police and prosecutors have said. And the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, said it had received hundreds of complaints since the protests began.
Like Officer D’Andraia, an officer involved in a separate episode was suspended last week after internal affairs investigators concluded that he had violated department policies and should face disciplinary charges.
The second officer, who has not been identified publicly, was videotaped snatching a mask off a man’s face and then pepper-spraying the man during a protest in Brooklyn on May 30. The officer involved in that episode was also expected to be criminally charged, although his arrest was not imminent, two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter said.
The second officer’s lawyer, Stuart London, declined on Monday to comment before the criminal investigation was finished.
On Tuesday, the police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea, said that a third officer, who was videotaped hitting a protester with the door of his unmarked police car in Brooklyn on May 29, was facing departmental charges after an internal affairs investigation.
“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,” Commissioner Shea said.
In a statement, Mr. Lynch, whose union represents about 24,000 active officers, accused Mayor Bill de Blasio top police officials of mishandling the protests and then abandoning officers to “save their own skin.”
“They created the failed strategy for maintaining these demonstrations,” Mr. Lynch said. “They sent police officers out to do the job with no support and no clear plan. They should be the ones facing this mob-rule justice.”
Officer D’Andraia joined the Police Department in January 2015 and he was assigned to the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn’s Brownsville section. Video that Ms. Zayer shot with her cellphone shows him approaching her as she and other protesters left the Barclays Center. Deputy Inspector Craig Edelman, the precinct commander, is following closely behind.
“Get out of the street,” Officer D’Andraia can be heard saying to Ms. Zayer as she backs away while recording him.
“Why?” she asks.
A moment later, the video ends abruptly as the officer’s right arm rises toward the camera. Ms. Zayer said he threw the device aside before pushing her.
A second video, recorded by Jason Lemon, the Newsweek reporter, shows Officer D’Andraia leaning forward and thrusting his arms into Ms. Zayer’s torso, knocking her down. Ms. Zayer said she hit her head on the pavement.
“I think that Officer D’Andraia is a coward,” she said in an interview with WNBC-TV. “He should never be allowed to wear a badge and a gun again.”
Inspector Edelman was among several officers who were nearby and did not intervene to stop Officer D’Andraia, Mr. Lemon’s video shows. They continued walking after the encounter. Inspector Edelman has been transferred, according to Commissioner Shea.
Ms. Aboushi, Ms. Zayer’s lawyer, said the video was crucial to ensuring that the case was not ignored.
“Without this video, how would she seek justice?” Ms. Aboushi said.
Nate Schweber and Sean Piccoli contributed reporting.
Ashley Southall is a law enforcement reporter focused on crime and policing in New York City. @AshleyatTimes
