De Blasio Defends Another Violent Social Distancing Arrest By NYPD: "Respect Goes Both Ways"

An NYPD officer was seen on video punching a young man in the head, then threatening to arrest his friends for not wearing masks, during a violent social distancing stop in East New York on Sunday.

According to the arrest report, 20-year-old Stephon Scott and three others were stopped by police "for failing to social distance. All were within six feet of each other." Scott allegedly approached the police vehicle as the officers were running their names, then refused to be handcuffed, an NYPD spokesperson said.

The video begins as Scott is being wrestled to the ground by three officers, one of whom punches him in the head. The same officer — whose badge number matches Michael Amello of the 75th Precinct — then waves his baton at the bystanders, screaming at them to back up and "go inside."

He subsequently threatens to arrest the witnesses for "not wearing a mask," as another officer, who is not wearing any face covering, approaches the group. None of the three officers are properly wearing masks, which were not covering their noses during the incident captured on video.

Scott was charged with resisting arrest, obstructing government administration, unlawful assembly, and disorderly conduct, according to NYPD Spokesperson Detective Arlene Muniz. Another 15-year-old at the scene was also charged with menacing. The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the arrest, Muniz said.

Oren Yaniv, a spokesperson for Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, said that their office declined to prosecute the charges against Scott because of a policy put in place in March to not pursue "low level cases as part of our efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus." Yaniv said that their office has declined to pursue more than 400 cases because of the policy. It's unclear how long Scott was held in police custody.

Asked about the incident on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the young men for not following police orders.

"I want to caution that any time an officer asks someone to observe social distancing or put on a mask, the response should be to follow the instruction of the officer," de Blasio told reporters. "Respect goes both ways."'

The incident comes one day after viral video of an East Village social distancing arrest — in which NYPD Officer Francisco Garcia can be seen beating Donnie Wright, a NYCHA groundskeeper — drew widespread condemnation of enforcement disparities.

Another video taken in the 75th Precinct on Monday shows police officers handcuffing a black man for allegedly refusing to abide by social distancing orders.

"We’ve seen a couple videos surface in the last few days. The common denominator here is starting with a lack of compliance," NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Monday. "Every incident is unique and has to be examined under the lens of the circumstances of that particular incident."

Police accountability activists and public defenders, meanwhile, say that attempts to enforce social distancing rules are clearly unequal, with the NYPD allegedly targeting communities of color with more stops and violent arrests, while offering a "kinder, gentler" approach in neighborhoods that are predominantly white.

"The difference between enforcement of social distancing in New York’s black and white communities is night and day," said Hawk Newsome, the president of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York. He says he was issued a summons during an NYPD social distancing sweep of the Melrose Houses in the Bronx on Sunday. "This crisis has only brought more threats of violence to our communities," Newsome added.

The NYPD has not provided breakdowns by race or neighborhood for social distancing summonses and arrests, despite repeated requests.