Last week, the Manhattan district attorney released a body camera video of one of the New York City Police officers who was attacked by a group of migrants near Times Square on January 28.
The video presented by District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday could raise questions about the initial police arrest of one of the men.
According to the images, a group of men gathered on 42nd Street were blocking a small part of the wide sidewalk. Some seemed reluctant to leave, but after a while, they began to walk away singing an offensive song in Spanish, apparently directed at officers nearby.
The two officers approached the group and asked the migrants to leave toward 41st Street. Police body camera video then shows the officers telling Yohenry Brito (seen wearing a yellow coat and pushing a stroller) that move on. As he begins to move slowly, he apparently shouts in Spanish: “It looks like ‘Ugly Betty.’”
Immediately after, an officer pushes Brito against a building to search him. The man began to complain while asking about the baby stroller he was carrying and shortly after apparently tried to escape.
When the fight between the officers began to arrest Brito, a group of people approached attacking and kicking the two police officers.
Bragg, accompanied by Mayor Eric Adams and police, announced that seven people have been charged in connection with the incident. Brito remains the only suspect still detained on bail.
After reviewing videos in recent weeks showing the attack from various angles, Bragg and his team found evidence that demonstrates the role each suspect played in the beating of the officers.
The suspect, Darwin Gómez-Izquiel, kicked the officers, according to the videos. While Yorman Revefron, who is seen dressed in white in the images, was also charged with assault for “grabbing, pulling and throwing the two officers to the ground,” Bragg said at a press conference.
Another suspect, Kelvin Arocha, is seen in the video kicking a police radio, for which he has been accused of helping others in the attack. Wilson Juarez was accused of handing over his gray jacket to help Brito escape. His charges have been downgraded from assault to tampering with evidence.
Another man was charged with assault, but a police source familiar with the investigation told Telemundo 47 which is not even visible in the videos.
Two other people, who have not yet been identified, were also charged in the altercation.
Bragg said they have acted cautiously because there was a lot of confusion surrounding the identity of the men involved in the altercation. In addition, he pointed out that communication problems between federal and local authorities have not helped.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials issued a statement earlier this week saying they detained four men in Arizona in connection with the Times Square case. However, Bragg denied that the detainees had any relationship with the case investigated in New York.
On Wednesday, The NYPD released images of two more men they are looking for in the case. One man is seen kicking an officer several times, while the other is seen kicking an officer and then falling, according to officials.
The suspects who have already been identified and arrested are due to appear in court in early March.
Keep reading:
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