Deaths and Injuries in Police Custody

[Andrea]

76-year-old deaf woman sues Alameda County sheriff’s deputy for rough arrest

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/76-year-old-deaf-woman-sues-Alameda-County-13159009.php

A deaf 76-year-old woman accused an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputy of excessive force during an alleged jaywalking incident last year, claiming the deputy “violently threw” her to the ground and handcuffed her to an ambulance while she was unconscious.

Attorneys for plaintiff Hui Jie Jin laid out the allegations in a lawsuit filed late last week in Northern District of California. The suit claims Jin suffered a permanent brain injury, along with contusions and abrasions, as a result of what her attorneys called an unlawful arrest.

Defendants named in the suit include sheriff’s Deputy Phillip Corvello, Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern, Alameda County and the city of Dublin. Corvello is contracted to work with the Dublin Police Department.

Nate Schmidt, a Dublin police captain, confirmed that the department conducted an internal investigation after the incident and found Corvello’s use of force to be within policy.

The department’s policy does not count jaywalking as an arrestable offense, Schmidt said, but “there was more than an arrest for jaywalking. Not obeying a lawful order is an arrestable offense, so that’s what we were looking at.”

Schmidt declined comment on the allegations in the civil suit but confirmed that Corvello is still employed by the agency.

Jin and Corvello encountered each other on the morning of July 21, 2017, when Jin was out shopping for groceries. The lawsuit claims that Corvello began yelling at Jin while she was allegedly jaywalking, but because Jin is “profoundly deaf” she couldn’t hear or understand his commands.

As Corvello moved closer to her, the suit alleges, Jin pointed to her ear with one hand and waved her hand back and forth with the other to signal that she was deaf.

“Despite recognizing that Mrs. Jin could not hear or understand him, Officer Corvello made no attempts to effectively communicate with Mrs. Jin at any point before or during her arrest,” the suit states.

More officers arrived on the scene and performed a search of Jin and her grocery bags, according to court documents, and during this time Jin emptied her pockets to hand Corvello her California identification card, disabled senior citizen bus pass, and a handwritten card with the name and phone number of Jin’s daughter for emergencies.

“Mrs. Jin was terrified, but at no point did she resist arrest or attempt to flee, nor could she due to her age and disabilities,” the complaint states. Jin prayed and repeatedly bowed in front of Corvello “in order to beg ... for mercy and not to hurt her.”

In response, the suit alleges, Corvello slammed the woman to the ground, placed a foot or knee behind her neck or back and handcuffed her. Jin passed out and was taken to the hospital via ambulance, according to the suit, which alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, negligence, and deprivation of Jin’s civil rights.

Jin was issued a citation for jaywalking and resisting arrest, but no paperwork exists and no charges were filed, the suit states.

Jin is seeking an unnamed amount in damages, as well as a training and policy overhaul on how the agencies handle people with hearing loss. A case management conference is scheduled for Nov. 26 at the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco.

[Andrea]

St. Louis Police Officer Adam Feaman Charged in Flashlight Beating of Suspect

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/08/22/st-louis-police-officer-adam-feaman-charged-in-flashlight-beating-of-suspect

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney today filed felony charges against a city cop who cracked a retreating man's jaw with his flashlight.

Officer Adam Feaman, 40, was charged with second-degree assault and armed criminal action in the August 14, 2017, beating of Jamal White, court records show. A judge issued an at-large warrant for the officer today, and police say Feaman is not yet in custody.

As the RFT detailed last week in a story published in collaboration with the non-profit GRAM, Feaman was captured on video by a bystander as he confronted White, apparently for playing loud music on his car stereo.

As Feaman shouted he was under arrest, White broke into a nervous jog, questioning what he had done: "How am I under arrest?" When Feaman caught up to him, he struck White in the face, cracking his jaw. As White fell to the ground, Feaman again struck him in the back of the head with the flashlight, yelling, “Get on the fucking ground!”

As freelancer Clark Randall detailed in the story, Feaman had been the subject of numerous other complaints in recent years. In 2010, a 22-year-old black man filed a complaint alleging that Feaman pulled him over and used racial slurs against him. A year later, a 22-year-old black man complained that Feaman planted drugs on him, and that while Feaman arrested him, another officer hit him in the face multiple times.

In 2012, a 21-year-old black man filed a complaint alleging that Feaman had punched him in the face. Two years later, in 2014, a 31-year-old black man alleged that Officer Feaman and another officer stole $400 from his car during a traffic stop.

When asked if disciplinary actions had ever been taken against Officer Feaman, Sgt. Keith Barrett, a spokesman for the department, said those records were closed.

Attorney Jermaine Wooten obtained the video from the bystander. He filed suit against Feaman in federal court.

In the lawsuit, Wooten wrote that Feaman spotted White at a local bar or club on September 30, 2017, one month after the flashlight beating. Apparently having heard that White planned to sue him, he threatened to “crack [his] jaw again.” Feaman had to be escorted out.

Rather than explain himself in deposition, Feaman refused to answer any questions. (He also declined to answer whether he was invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, or explain why he was not answering.)

Wooten later dismissed the federal suit, but said he intends to refile in state court.

Feaman's bond was set at $30,000 cash, according to the warrant issued today.

Police refused to release his department photo but said his mug shot would be distributed once he has been arrested. He was suspended today from the force.

In a statement, the department said, "The Metropolitan Police Department fully cooperated with this investigation and is committed to ensuring the men and women of our Department are held to the highest standards. The Department will continue to be vigorous in our efforts to uphold these standards and hold any persons whose actions may compromise the integrity of the organization accountable."

[Andrea]

Cincinnati police officer tases 11-year old suspected of shoplifting, tells her 'This is why there aren't any grocery stores in the black community'

https://abcnews.go.com/US/cincinnati-police-officer-tases-11-year-suspected-shoplifting/story?id=57635409

Police in Cincinnati released bodycam video on Tuesday of an officer telling an 11-year-old girl, after he used a taser on her for allegedly shoplifting, that "this is why there aren’t any grocery stores in the Black community," an internal review showed.

The incident happened while police officer Kevin Brown was working "an outside employment extension of police services detail" at a Kroger’s grocery store on August 6, according to the Cincinnati Police Department.

Brown witnessed three girls attempting to shoplift items, the review, posted by ABC affiliate WCPO stated.

As all three tried to leave the store, Brown repeatedly asked them to stop. When they refused his commands, Brown deployed the taser at one of the girls, the internal review said.

Officer Brown did not turn on his bodycam video until after he tased the girl. After deploying the taser, Brown then placed her in handcuffs and escorted her to the back of the store, according to the use of force review of the incident.

"The last thing I want to do is tase you like that," Brown tells the girl in the video. "That hurt my heart to do that to you. Then I got to listen to all these idiots out here in the parking lot tell me how I was wrong for tasing you."

When Brown searched the girl's backpack, he found "clothing, and consumable goods which included food and beverage" which was worth just over $53, the review said.

The items included "candy and beef jerky, as well as infant clothing," according to the report. The backpack also belonged to the Kroger's, the review stated.

The girl told the officer that she "took a backpack but the two other juveniles placed items in the bag," the internal review said.

The girl was later taken to the Children’s Hospital Medical Center for evaluation, and then released, according to Cincinnati police.

The use of force review of the incident found that Brown violated several department rules including using a TASER without giving a verbal warning he was about to do so, using a TASER when not reasonably necessary and expressing prejudice concerning race.

After ordering the girl several times to stop and show him a receipt for her purchases, Brown used his TASER on her, according to the review. One barb from the weapon hit her in the back, and another hit her below the waist, documents showed. She then fell to the ground, after which Brown handcuffed her and brought her back into the store.

Brown knew the girl "did not appear to be a threat to himself or others," the review stated. It also says that "Brown was referencing the closing of a number of Kroger stores in black communities, which he believed resulted from large amounts of theft losses."

Brown had been placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of the investigation, according to police.

Brown now will face a pre-disciplinary hearing, ABC Affiliate WCPO reported.

Cincinnati Police Union President Dan Hils defended Brown.

"I think the officer was trying to express to this juvenile suspect that there are consequences, not only to herself, but to others when you don’t respect the property rights of another," Hils said in a statement to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

[Andrea]

Harlem Restaurant Owner Is Suing The NYPD For Arresting Him After Helping White Patrons

https://www.essence.com/news/nypd-clyde-pemberton-lawsuit/

Clyde Pemberton never expected to be arrested in his own restaurant, but that’s exactly what happened to the Harlem business owner.

According to a new federal lawsuit, Pemberton and two of his employees say they were racially profiled and falsely detained by New York Police Department officers following a bizarre scene in his establishment, MIST Harlem.

The New York Times reports:

“On June 1, 2017, Dr. Pemberton, a retired psychiatrist, was holding a business meeting at his restaurant when he saw two women leaving the bathroom, dragging a third woman who was visibly unconscious across the room at 10:30 p.m., the complaint states. The women, who were all white, knocked over a stanchion of a rope blocking off a section of the restaurant to customers.

“When Dr. Pemberton, now 68, walked over to the women to ask what was wrong and suggested the unconscious woman be placed in a chair, one woman punched him in the chest and referred to him with a racial slur, according to the complaint.”

While Pemberton and his employees, Christian Baptiste and Thomas Debnam, say they were all assaulted by the women, when police arrived they were the ones who found themselves in custody.

The New York Times explains, “One of the arresting officers, Anthony Sengco, wrote in his criminal complaint that he observed Dr. Pemberton, Mr. Baptiste and Mr. Debnam blocking the exit to the restaurant and that the men had stated to him that they were trying to prevent the women from leaving. The men deny that they made any such statements to Mr. Sengco or that they were trying to prevent the women from leaving.”

The men were charged with unlawful imprisonment and spent six hours in custody. Last November, however, the charges were dropped. Still, the traumatic ordeal has left a lasting imprint on them.

“Everything we did was in the right way and approach, and it was overlooked, ignored and disrespected, our rights as human beings,” Debnam said. “There’s a flaw in our system.”

Pemberton, a legal immigrant from Trinidad, said he’s had trouble traveling in and out of the country since his arrest, even though the charges were dismissed.

“We thought it was over,” Pemberton said, noting police have stepped up their presence at his restaurant, which he said is hurting business.

Though one of the women involved was also arrested and charged with assault with intent to cause physical injury, Pemberton’s attorney said police mishandled the incident.

“You don’t just arrest everybody on the scene and sort it out later,” Elizabeth Saylor, a civil rights lawyer, said. “They are privileged Black men who have money and the resources to fight this, but despite that it deeply affected them.”

[Andrea]

SEE IT: Cop curses out methadone patients in SoHo, yelling 'Go shoot your f------ heroin and die!'

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-metro-video-cop-curses-people-out-20180907-story.html#

An NYPD cop with his gun drawn cursed out men outside a clinic in SoHo, screaming “Shoot your f------ heroin and die!” according to a shocking video.

The clip shows the officer with his gun drawn but at his side as he approaches the group near the corner of Prince and Crosby streets.

“Taking a f------ walk right now!” the cop screams as he holsters his weapon. “I’ll knock you the f--- out.”

He storms off without arresting anyone, and hollers “Go shoot your f------ heroin and die!” the video shows.

The footage is believed to be recorded on Aug. 31, a few hours before it popped up on Facebook and Twitter.

“ALERT NYC!” wrote the Twitter user with the handle Antifa Seven Hills. “This officer responded to a minor scuffle at a methadone clinic in SOHO today with his gun out & ready to use on folks seeking help. He then told these human beings to ‘shoot your f----- heroin and die.’”

“IDENTIFY THIS PIG!” the group pleaded.

The closest methadone clinic to the scene is about two blocks away at Lafayette St. and Spring St.

An NYPD spokeswoman said that the cop’s commanding officer has been made aware of the situation and was investigating.

[Andrea]

Two Miami cops were filmed kicking people’s heads. Only one was punished.

http://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article218652085.html?__twitter_impression=true

Police officers used excessive force in separate instances when they were caught on video kicking suspects in the head, a civilian panel tasked with watching over Miami police determined this week.

But only one of the officers has been disciplined by the police department and prosecutors for the kick. The difference, according to Miami’s Civilian Investigative Panel: The officer who was suspended and charged with a crime was caught kicking at a suspected car thief’s head on cellphone video recorded by a civilian.

In the other case, an internal review found no wrongdoing despite clear video of the officer twice using the heel of his shoe to stomp on the head of a female teenaged armed robbery suspect while she was lying on the ground. But video of that incident only came to light several months after the incident, when a virtual policing unit retrieved it for trial and became alarmed enough to pass it along to supervisors.

Miami police officer John Askew was cleared of any wrongdoing by Internal Affairs after police body-cam video surfaced of him using force to subdue an armed robbery suspect. Now a civilian oversight panel thinks something should be done about it.

The difference in how police responded to the cases, some CIP members concluded, shows what a powerful tool bystander cellphone videos have become in capturing the actions of officers — actions that in the past were rarely seen by the public.

Elisabeth Albert, a CIP investigator with two decades of policing experience, told panel members the bodycam video would never have been discovered if not for the action of the virtual policing unit. Unlike how the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office dealt with the highly publicized cellphone video, the bodycam footage was passed back to the police department and treated as an in-house administrative matter.

“It was handled differently without the video out there,” Albert said.

The first incident involved the May 3 arrest of David Suazo, 31, who eventually pleaded guilty and agreed to 30 months in prison for grand theft auto, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and fleeing from police. According to police and investigators from the CIP, police were watching Suazo’s home when he emerged and started driving a 2000 Jeep Cherokee that had been reported stolen in Broward County.

Police said they followed Suazo to Overtown and when they turned on their sirens he sped up toward the Culmer Apartments, crashed the vehicle into a wall and fled on foot. Police bodycam footage captured some officers, who couldn’t leap a spiked metal fence in a courtyard to get to Suazo, running through apartments.

At one point, officer Mario Figueroa confronted Suazo through the fence and fired his Taser, which had no effect. Then, after another officer subdued Suazo on the grass — lying on his stomach, his hands cuffed behind his back — Figueroa is seen racing toward him and delivering a running kick to the suspect’s head. Suazo appears to move his head in the video and Figueroa’s kick appears to miss its target.

Despite at least three officers wearing body cameras, none of them captured the kick. Figueroa claimed his camera fell off his uniform as he was running toward Suazo. The video, taken by a former Florida International University student who lives in the complex, received substantial play after she posted it on her Facebook page and sent a copy to Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina.

Colina immediately declared that the video “depicts a clear violation of policy” and suspended the two-year cop with pay pending the outcome of an investigation. Five days later, state prosecutors, who have rarely filed criminal cases against officers, charged Figueroa with assault. Figueroa said he thought the officer was struggling to subdue Suazo and was going to kick him to get him to comply, but changed direction of the kick in mid-stream when he realized Suazo was not resisting.

“What he did land was intent. The intent to me does way more damage,” said CIP member Courtney Omega. The board voted unanimously that Figueroa used excessive force.

The second incident was more contentious for CIP members, with some arguing that the officer had the right to fear for his life when he saw a dark object fly by while trying to subdue a woman suspected of armed robbery. That object turned out to be her blue flip-flop.

It was February 2017 when police received a call saying an armed man had stolen a woman’s purse from her car at Northwest Seventh Avenue and 71st Street and then fled in a car. Police spotted the car and gave chase. It eventually crashed in Miami Shores at Northwest Second Court and 94th Street. The driver bailed and jumped a fence. But when police found a teenaged girl who had been in the car behind a patrol car, they began chasing her.

Bodycam video worn by one officer shows another officer taking the girl, known only as TJ, to the ground, then losing control of her and rolling away. That’s when Miami police officer John Askew is spotted running toward the girl with what appears to be a Taser in one hand and a radio in the other. With TJ on the ground, Askew twice stomps on her head with the heel of his right shoe.

“Move again, I dare you,” he’s heard saying while handcuffing her.

When the video is slowed, the dark object turned out to be her flip-flop flying in the air as Askew approaches her. There was no mention of the object initially by Askew in his report. But several months later, after viewing it prior to his internal affairs investigation, the officer claimed he feared it was the weapon used in the crime. State prosecutors who viewed the video passed it back to police, saying the issue should be dealt with administratively. Police found no wrongdoing with Askew’s actions.

He was eventually suspended a week without pay but for not filling out a use-of-force memo, which is required any time an officer uses force. Askew told internal affairs investigators he didn’t consider the episode to be a use-of-force.

Some CIP members — who are appointed by city commissioners, the mayor and police chief — said despite no known police training that involves kicking, anything goes in hand-to-hand combat, especially when police fear a suspect still has control of a weapon used in a crime.

CIP member Stephen Navarrete said he watched the video two dozen times and broke it down frame-by-frame. He said Askew only saw her behind the patrol car at the last moment and had the right to use force to subdue her, especially because he didn’t know where the weapon was and he saw a dark object fly past. The gun was eventually found in the backseat of the car that the suspects crashed.

“It looked bad. It looked ugly. But when she went down there was no control of her. He used his feet to control her. He thought she may have had the gun,” Navarrete said. “But before you vote tonight I think it’s important to remember this was an armed robbery. Anybody can pull a trigger.”

Other members, though, weren’t buying Navarrete’s narrative.

“This is like setting community policing back 30 years,” said panel member Deidria Davis.

Offered Minca Brantely: “It’s pretty obvious, you don’t kick people in the head. I teach that to my 7-year-old.”

The state eventually dropped all charges against TJ. The CIP panel voted 8-3, saying Askew used excessive force. Navarrete, Alvaro Puente and Noel Rojas were in the minority.

Now, CIP Executive Director Cristina Beamud will pen a letter to Colina arguing Askew should be disciplined for the kicks. Colina is not likely to do much. His office already said nothing will be done unless the panel finds new evidence that internal affairs hasn’t already taken into consideration.

The panel also voted to let Colina know that the video of the Miami officer driving over a grassy swale and a sidewalk and of Askew kicking the suspect should be used as a training video for Miami police — on how not to take a suspect into custody.

[Andrea]

Members Of A Far-Right Men’s Group Violently Beat Up Protesters And Weren’t Arrested. New York Police Won’t Say Why.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes-protest?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc

Far-right men’s organization “Proud Boys” violently beat two or three apparent protesters Friday night following a Republican event in Manhattan.

About 30 members of the group — describe themselves as "Western chauvinists" and have frequently aligned themselves with avowed neo-Nazis — participated in the beating, some screaming threats and slurs at the individuals, according to video and an eyewitness account.

Although New York Police Department officers were present at the time of the attack, none of the Proud Boys were arrested for the beatdown.

However, separately, three other protesters were arrested for attacking a person leaving the event.

Police have not yet explained why there were no arrests made in the assault on the protesters, despite multiple inquiries by BuzzFeed News Saturday. The NYPD later released a statement saying that it was reviewing video and evidence to determine if additional crimes were committed.

"There is no tolerance for violence anywhere in New York City, and the NYPD will do everything in its power to ensure public safety," the statement said.

The beating followed a speech at the Metropolitan Republican Club by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnis, in which he reenacted the samurai sword assassination of Japanese socialist leader Inejiro Asanuma, calling it an “inspiring moment.” The club advertised the event on its Facebook page saying, “Banned from Twitter — this Godfather of the Hipster Movement has taken on and exposed the Deep State Socialists and stood up for Western Values.”

McInnes, who was also a cofounder of Vice Media, has been suspended from Twitter in August, along with the group’s main account, @ProudBoysUSA, for violating its policy on “violent extremist groups.”

Ahead of Friday's event, the Metropolitan Republican Club’s headquarters had been vandalized with anarchist symbols and broken windows and doors, according to the New York Times. There was a note left that said that the vandalism was related to McInnes’s upcoming appearance.

“Last night the Metropolitan Republican Club was vandalized by the leftist hate group Antifa, who also left a note promising ‘this is just the beginning’ and threatening more violence,” the group posted to Facebook.
youtube.com

Shay Horse, a 25-year-old photojournalist from Brooklyn who was at the scene, told BuzzFeed News that the incident started after police escorted the event attendees — which included the Proud Boys — out of the building at the conclusion of the event.

McInnes was not present for the melee and had been escorted out earlier, carrying the samurai sword, and driven away by a car waiting outside the venue.

“There was a big group of like 30 of them, and they came out grunting…trying to hype each other up,” Horse said. The photojournalist said that police walked them only as far as the corner and did not make them disperse.

The NYPD said that police officers had been assigned to monitor the protest outside of the Metropolitan Republican Club on East 83rd Street and that there were no incidents at that location.

The beating occurred about two blocks away.

Horse said he saw “two or three bodies on the ground” and the Proud Boys all beating them in a group.

Members of the Proud Boys told Horse the brawl began when the protesters knocked a “Make America Great Again” hat off a member’s head.

“I heard them screaming and swearing at some guy on the ground,” Horse said. “They were beating the shit out of him and kicking him in the head. One guy had his foot on the guy’s neck.”

The Proud Boys also screamed slurs and threats at the people on the ground, Horse said. “One dude started screaming, ‘Do you feel brave now, faggot?’” he said.

Horse said he saw one of the victims’ faces was swollen and “was totally on the ground, couldn’t even talk...they just had their limbs up in a half-guard.”

“It was just a pummeling — it wasn’t really a fight, because the three people never really got a chance to even stand up,” he said.

Then, a police officer rolled up on a scooter and “just went totally slack-jawed and stared at the fight,” Horse said.

Horse said he yelled “Do something!” at the cop, who then “ran into the crowd flailing his arms saying ‘that’s enough, that’s enough.’”

The Proud Boys then peeled off — without being arrested or questioned by police — and made their way to a bar downtown. The people who were beaten hobbled off with their arms around each other for support, Horse said.

Three men were arrested nearby, in what appears to have been a separate clash following the Proud Boys event. In a tweet, senior Legal Aid staff attorney Rebecca Kavanagh suggested that the men arrested had been "anti-racist protestors" demonstrating the McInnis event.

NYPD told BuzzFeed News that at around 8:40 p.m. Friday, the officers saw the three men assaulting someone a few blocks from the event at East 84th Street and Third Avenue.

Police said they would not “confirm any known group association or whether or not they attended the event you reference or attack on anyone who did attend.”

The men, identified as Caleb Perkins, 35, Kai Russo, 20, and Finbarr Slonim, 20, were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Saturday. All three individuals face two counts of assault and one count each of larceny, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment, according to court documents. Perkins also faces one count of resisting arrest.

According to court documents, Perkins, Russo, and Slonim struck the victim in the face and that another man who was not arrested took the victim's backpack. The victim refused medical attention and is cooperating with police, the complaint states.

Gavin Wax, publisher of the online news site the Schpiel who attended the Proud Boys event and witnessed the alleged assault by the protesters, told BuzzFeed News he and a friend were walking toward the subway when they saw two masked individuals approach a man "who was backpedaling with his fists up" on Third Avenue.

"He was sweating. He had bruises on his face and he was calling for help," Wax said.

Wax said he and his friend then ran over and "split them up." At that point, Wax said, the victim yelled out that another man who was nearby with several others had his backpack and ran toward the group.

"He ran and they chased and we chased," Wax said.

Wax said they ended up at the corner of 84th and Third where the assailants started chanting, "He's a Nazi, he's a Nazi. Don't defend him."

Police arrived and arrested three individuals, while others ran off, Wax said.

Wax's friend Jake Freijo corroborated his account and told BuzzFeed News the victim was visibly "distraught" and had "a few contact marks on his face" that were purplish in color "turning to black and blue."

"He was very overwhelmed and he asked us to help him," Freijo said.

Moira Meltzer-Cohen, an attorney for Perkins, Russo, and Slonim, told BuzzFeed News Saturday that she does not "believe that the allegations are going to hold water" after an investigation into Friday's incidents. She declined to comment further.

NYPD ignored multiple emails from BuzzFeed News asking why Proud Boys members were not arrested for the violent assault, while protesters were. In a phone call following up on BuzzFeed's emails, police said they are “researching a response.”

Several New York elected officials — all Democrats — expressed outrage over the violence, and called on the NYPD and the New York City District Attorney's office to take action against the Proud Boys, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"Authorities must review these videos immediately and make arrests and prosecute as appropriate," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "Hate cannot and will not be tolerated in New York."

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson also called on the police department to thoroughly investigate the incident.

"NYC needs to send a message that violence and bigotry are not welcome anywhere in America and certainly not in the five boroughs," Johnson said on Twitter.

And New York Public Advocate Letitia James called on the NYPD to arrest all the Proud Boys involved in the beating.

"I am disturbed and disgusted by the videos I’ve seen of members of the neo-fascist, white supremacist Proud Boys group engaging in hate-fueled mob violence on the streets of New York City," James said. "New York will not become the next Charlottesville, and we refuse to let the actions of a hateful few define our City."

James said she would also urge the District Attorney to pursue hate crime charges due to "the clear homophobic and anti-immigrant sentiments expressed in the videos."

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood echoed the sentiments, saying on Twitter that "hate has no place in New York."

"This warrants immediate and thorough investigation by the NYPD to bring the perpetrators to justice," Underwood said. Her office declined to comment further.