Watch: Why Did Dozens Of NYPD Cops Punch, Kick, And Beat These Street Vendors?

Watch as dozens of NYPD police officers descend on a street fair in Brooklyn and almost immediately begin to hit, punch, kick, and detain vendors.

On Sunday, at 6:00 PM, dozens of New York City police officers descended on a Brooklyn street fair and within seconds began to punch, kick, hit, wrestle to the ground, handcuff, and otherwise assault vendors and passersby.

Why?

As this video shows, one NYPD officer announced it was 6:00 PM and time for the fair to end. Officers are responsible for clearing the street so traffic can resume.

LOOK: NYPD Cops Arrest Mom Who Was Waiting For Family To Return From Restroom

But vendors, as evidenced in the video, seem to have been given no time at all, and immediately and from out of nowhere, police began the attack on the largely Latino population.

“6 o’clock it’s 6 o’clock,” one police officer announces as the video begins. “You guys know the rules. Simple.”

Animal New York’s Amy K. Nelson published this report this morning:

It then sounds like she says, “If you guys are gonna fuck with us, we’re gonna fuck with you,” and a male officer then starts asking an older woman on the street who she is and how old she is. A younger man in a Cincinatti Reds hat tells the group of women they don’t have to answer that, and the male cop then approaches the young man and soon a confrontation begins.

Cops can be seen punching and kicking the man in the Reds hat and it spirals downward, with people at times trying to fight back against police. Multiple people were shooting with their phones but the video on Facebook is the best footage of the incident.

A local Univision reporter went to Sunset Park and spoke with residents, including Elegia Santillo, who said her three sons were arrested, including her oldest who was punched by cops. She says they are all fruit vendors. A pregnant woman told Univision that police punched her in the back.

Local City Councilman Carlos Menchaca and U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez sent Police Commissioner Bratton a letter denouncing the violence.

“We are a community that has felt unfairly targeted, particularly with the explosion of Stop and Frisk in our City over the last decade,” the letter reads. “We are community of immigrants that has historically felt isolated from the police. We are a community that has feared the use of excessive force by the NYPD. And sadly, the presence of police in our community does not consistently make our residents feel safer.”

LOOK: NYPD Cops Handcuff, Beat, Pepper Spray 23 Year Old After Frisking Him And Coming Up Empty

Here’s the full video, originally posted to the El Grito De Sunset Park Facebook page:

One officer who is accused of kicking one of the vendors has been suspended.

Last month, Vice reported, “In New York City, Police Brutality Is Bringing People Together.”

In July, as The New Civil Rights Movement reported, the NYPD arrested a mother who was standing alone outside an NYC restaurant after she told them she was just waiting for her family to return from the restroom. 

 

NYPD badge via Wikimedia

 

Related at The New Civil Rights Movement:

Wrong Apartment: NYPD Drags Naked Woman From Home Then Pepper Sprays 4-Year Old Grandson (Video)

New York Cop Who Jailed A Man For Being A ‘Smart Ass’ Will Face Charges

Occupy Wall Street: Shocking Video Of NYPD Prohibiting NY Times From Taking Photos