Video Shows Three NYPD Officers Hitting Man in the Face After He’s Pinned on the Ground

Bystander video posted to Youtube on Tuesday of a man being arrested by three NYPD officers shows them repeatedly punching him in the face as he is held down on his stomach on the ground. Alexis Jasmin, who recorded the cellphone video while riding on the bus, also had posted the video to Facebook on the morning of New Year’s Eve, the day that it happened.

Apparently, the man being beat in the video, Heriberto Nunez, wasn’t happy that the officers had given him a ticket and cursed at the cops, while sitting in his car. The unnamed cops, who were already in their own van preparing to leave, then jumped out and began arresting him. It’s of course not illegal to curse at the police, which means their assault upon and arrest of the man was completely unlawful.

Within her Facebook post (embedded below), Jasmin described the attack:

This man was already in his car and the police were in the van getting ready to pull off. Granted the man did stick his head out the window and say a few choice words. But please tell me why the cops got out the van, snatched him out of his car and proceeded to do this to him . Please explain to me why the officer kept bashing his face like that . This is exactly why i hate the police . His hands were already tied and he kept hitting the man in the face until bloody. RIDICULOUS!!

For their part, New York Police Department sources say that Nunez “lashed out” at the officers after receiving the ticket (which, once again, isn’t illegal) and claim that he was resisting their unlawful arrest, even though the video clearly shows him pinned to the ground by the three officers, with his hands already behind his back, being hit in the face for over 40 seconds, prior to them lifting him up and throwing him against their van.

According to the New York Daily News, Nunez was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and obstructing governmental administration. He’s since been released without bail.

Meanwhile, none of the cops involved have been disciplined, although the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is currently conducting an “investigation” prior to making that situation official.