October 23, 2012
Victim of police beating on video at N.Y. Chabad center has charges dropped
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All charges have been dropped against a homeless man shown on a video being beaten by New York police officers at a Chabad youth center in Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said Monday afternoon that it would drop the charges against Ehud Halevy, 21, who was arrested Oct. 8 after the police beating for assault, resisting arrest and trespassing. The charges will be dropped formally at a Wednesday court hearing.
The New York Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit and the district attorney’s office are investigating the officers who beat Halevy.
A video of the arrest posted Oct. 14 on the Internet shows Halevy exchanging words with a male police officer and pushing away his hands after the officer had taken out handcuffs. Shortly after, the cop assumes a fighting stance and punches Halevy several times as he and a female officer wrestle Halevy to the couch where he was found sleeping.
A volunteer security guard at the ALIYA Institute believed that Halevy was drunk, according to reports.
During the two-minute incident, the female officer appears to use a truncheon and pepper spray on Halevy. Eight police officers arrive later to handcuff him.
Halevy reportedly had been sleeping on the institute's couch with permission for about a month.
