NYPD investigating after clip allegedly shows officers yelling obscenities at man in street during coronavirus lockdown
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
The New York City Police Department says it has launched an internal investigation after a video clip surfaced in which two of its members purportedly were heard telling a person over their cruiser’s loudspeaker to “shut the f--- up” or else they would “smack the s---” out of him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Video posted on Twitter appeared to show an NYPD cruiser engaging with an unknown individual after pulling up alongside him on the streets of Manhattan, which have become desolate during the coronavirus outbreak. It was not immediately clear what sparked the foul-mouthed exchange.
“Shut the f--- up,” says a voice coming from a loudspeaker, to which the man yells in response “No, you shut your... we don't talk to you."
CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Later on in the clip, which lasted about two minutes and appears to have been recorded from an apartment building window, the loudspeaker voice is heard saying “Shut the f-- up before I smack the s--- out of you!”
Near the end of the footage, the man is heard repeatedly yelling “stop! stop! stop!" as the cruiser starts to pull away. The footage ends with one of the NYPD members purportedly telling the man to “lick my balls.”
The NYPD tweeted Thursday that “an incident involving two members of our department on patrol in Midtown Manhattan last night has surfaced.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This incident was put under investigation immediately and that internal investigation will be conducted as expeditiously as possible,” it added.
Eliel Cruz, an activist who posted the footage, described it as “unacceptable,” while NYPD Transit Chief Edward Delatorre tweeted that he was “equally alarmed by the footage.”