Man sucker punches, wrestles NYPD cop to the ground in Brooklyn
A deranged man sucker-punched an NYPD officer on a Brooklyn sidewalk, pinning the cop to the ground and refusing to budge — and was later released despite felony assault charges, police and sources said.
The wild video shows Steven Haynes, 40, socking the uniformed officer across the face outside a Bank of America near the corner of Livingston St. and Court St. in Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday, officials said.
Haynes, who police said had been sitting on the sidewalk drinking and blocking pedestrians, briefly brawls with the officer before wrestling him to the pavement in a swift attack that sends a nearby trash can flying into the street, body camera footage obtained by The Post shows.
Seconds later, the cop’s partner calls for backup, then begins yelling for Haynes to stop.
“Get off of him, get off of him!” the officer says as she hovers over the suspect, grabbing the man’s back and brandishing a baton. “All right, sir. Stop, stop, stop, stop!”
Haynes continues to struggle with the officer on the ground, while the other cop grips the man’s jacket and attempts to convince him to move.
“Mister, come on,” the cop pleads, thumping Haynes on the back with the baton.
Several other police officers then arrive a minute later and help take Haynes into custody.
The Brooklyn man was arrested and hit with a slew of charges, including assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct, and alcoholic beverage violation, authorities said.
He was later released without bail at an arraignment Friday, sources told the Post.
The Sergeant’s Benevolent Association expressed their outrage on Twitter Saturday at the prolonged assault.
“Another ATTACK on NYPD Cops! Was this officer working alone?” the union fumed. ‘Who was saying “Mr. Get off of him?’ All street cops BE CAREFUL, the city is falling and YOU are the first target.”
Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch slammed city politicians in a statement to the Post responding to the footage.
“When will our elected leaders admit that the streets are out of control? The perps know they can sucker punch a cop and escape with no consequences,” he said. “And cops know that City Hall will not back them up. The situation is getting more dangerous by the day.”
Haynes has a long rap sheet of at least 24 prior arrests, most of them for theft of service, the NYPD said.
The incident is under internal review, a spokesperson said.
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