De Blasio Blames Homeless Man Punched By Cop For Violence

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that a homeless man's actions are largely to blame for him being punched repeatedly in the face by an NYPD officer in a Midtown subway station.

The mayor weighed in on the violent arrest first publicized by the Legal Aid Society a week ago during a Monday night appearance on NY1's "Inside City Hall." While de Blasio criticized officer Adonis Long for using excessive force — identified by lawyers as "Joseph" — the mayor also justified Long's actions by pointing out that the man disobeyed Long's orders and swiped at the officers hand while being grabbed.

"It was very painful to watch that video and, look, I don't like anything I see in the video because I don't like the actions of — any time it seems to be an officer using too much force, that's not what we believe in. We believe in de-escalation. We also — I don't like anytime I see someone refusing to follow an instruction by an officer. That's an obvious valid instruction. In fact, apparently from what we see in the video, the guy also, you know, strikes at the officer and that's not acceptable," de Blasio said Monday.

The mayor shrugged off questions on the arrest during press briefings last week by telling reporters that he hadn't seen the video. The Legal Aid Society uploaded body camera video of Joseph's arrest to YouTube on July 15.

Joseph was asked by officers Long and Shimul Saha to exit a train in the East 51st Street and Lexington Avenue subway station shortly after midnight on May 25 because the rider was "occupying more than one seat on the train," according to Saha's criminal complaint. Saha writes that the man began "flailing his arms and kicking his legs" while Saha and Long attempted to drag him off the train.

Officer Saha writes in the complaint that Long told him he was kicked in the right hand, causing "swelling" to the knuckles that required hospitalization and prevents Long from opening and closing his hand without pain.

Joseph initially faced charges for resisting arrest and assault. THE CITY, which first reported the incident, reported last week that the Manhattan DA's office is planning to drop the assault charges.

Footage captured on the NYPD officer's body camera, and released by the Legal Aid Society, does not reflect Saha's account. The footage begins with Joseph being asked to leave the train for no specified reason. When the train arrives at the East 51st Street station, Joseph exits the car and re-enters in an adjacent one. He's then followed by police, who again order him off the train and tell him he is delaying the train.

When officer Long grabs Joseph, the man brushes his hand off and tells the officer "don't touch me." After a second brush-off, Long punches Joseph in the face twice and yells at him to "get off the f---ing" train." Police officers surround the man, throwing him to the ground on the trian platform and detaining him against a wall, according to the body camera footage.

Long is seen kicking Joseph's belongings on the ground of the train platform as the man asks "why are you f---ing hitting me?" When Joseph doesn't immediately follow orders to "sit down" Long sprays him in the face with mace, according to the body camera footage.

For the remaining three minutes of the body camera footage Joseph is handcuffed as he yells in pain, tells officers he is having a panic attack and is having trouble breathing, pleads with officers and screams for help.

Read Patch's full coverage of the initial arrest here.