An NYPD officer seen on video shoving a woman to the ground amid protests last month in Brooklyn now faces multiple charges after turning himself in to authorities Tuesday morning, officials say.
According to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, the now-suspended Officer Vincent D’Andraia is being charged with third-degree assault, fourth-degree criminal mischief, second-degree harassment and third-degree menacing.
D'Andraia, 28, was arraigned Tuesday during a remote arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
A union representing officers said on Monday it expected Officer Vincent D’Andraia to be arrested and hit with criminal charges.
The cop was caught on video violently pushing Dounya Zayer to the ground during a nighttime march against police brutality on May 29, following the death of George Floyd earlier that week.
Zayer and bystanders were using cellphone cameras during the demonstration and caught the incident on video.
She was hospitalized for a head injury she suffered when she hit the ground.
The officer was suspended from the department without pay on Friday following an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation into the incident, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea had said.
A supervisor who was on the scene was also transferred as a result of the investigation, Shea said.
Though the officer is facing charges, the victim's attorney isn't completely satisfied just yet.
“While the officer was charged, we have to see where it goes from here," said Tahanie Aboushi, the victim's attorney. "The district attorney moved swiftly because of the pressure we put on.”
Gonzalez echoed his support for the victim.
"I fully support the long-held American tradition of non-violent protest," he said in a statement. "As district attorney, I cannot tolerate the use of excessive force against anyone exercising this Constitutionally guaranteed right.”
The officer is back in court on October 15.
This article was written by Mark Sundstrom, Mary Murphy, Anthony DiLorenzo and Nicole Johnson for WPIX.
