A homeless man sleeping in a Jewish youth center was roused, beaten and pepper-sprayed by cops in an October 8 attack caught on video.
Ehud Halevi was roughed up by two officers from New York’s 71st precinct at the ALIYA Center and Synagogue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
According to reports from Gothamist, Halevi had permission to stay at the center and had been sleeping there for a month. A security officer, Zlamy Trappler, found Halevi there and alerted authorities because he was unaware of the arrangement and suspected Halevi of loitering.
Halevi, who was beaten by a male and female officer and pepper-sprayed, has been charged with assaulting an officer. Check out the video for yourself and decide who’s assaulting whom:
It appears that Halevi woke up to find two officers at his side and was confused as to why they were there. He pled his case for a while, then resisted when the cops tried to handcuff him. He was punched in the face by a male officer, who appeared to be in a boxing stance as he lunged forth at Halevi. The female officer stepped in after to finish the job with pepper spray. The battle lasted for some two minutes. Then a load of officers appeared to to provide backup.
Halevi is out on bail and faces up to five years in prison for assaulting an officer. Who’s at fault here? What do you think?