The 15-year veteran was arrested June 25 for using an illegal chokehold on a black man named Ricky Bellevue.
NYPD
David Afanador was arrested after using an illegal chokehold on a suspect, authorities say.
David Afanador, the NYPD officer seen using an illegal chokehold during an arrest in a viral video, is now facing charges. Afanador has been arrested and charged with attempted aggravated strangulation and strangulation in the second degree, TMZ reports. He is now out on bail.
On June 21, Afanador and other officers approached a black man named Ricky Bellevue in the Rockaway Beach area of Queens, New York after getting reports of a man acting erratically. During his arrest, things got physical due to Bellevue resisting arrest and Afanador put him in a chokehold, a method of restraint that is now illegal in New York. Afanador had Bellevue in a chokehold for eight to 12 seconds and it left him unconscious according to TMZ. After the incident, Bellevue was taken to St. John’s Hospital and received medical attention for a laceration on his head, CBS reported.
After the incident led to the police department being under heavy scrutiny, the NYPD Commissioner Dermot F. Shea announced that Afanador was suspended without pay while the incident was being investigated.
