A video of a Bronx man assaulting an NYPD detective with a stick as he investigated a burglary scene in Queens is being widely circulated on social media.
Akeele Morgan, 25, was arrested after he was caught on video attacking the detective, who was filling out paperwork outside a storefront with broken glass on the floor.
Morgan, who can be seen wearing a brown hoodie and a mask and carrying two plastic sticks in each hand, walked up to the detective and hit him on the side of the face before walking away. Officers later chased him down and arrested him.
He has now been charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. The detective was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, according to New York Daily News.
Video Shared by NYPD Police Union, Statement Issued
The video was shared by the Detectives Endowment Association (DEA), one of three major police unions representing police officers of the New York City Police Department along with the caption, "Welcome to NYC! Even as our Detectives investigate crimes they're attacked by emboldened criminals, who have quickly realized there are no consequences for law breakers in our city. The DEA is calling for this violence to be fully prosecuted as we look to file civil charges."
DEA President Paul DiGiacomo issued a statement shortly after the incident. "If there's anyone wondering why this happened, they can ask their elected officials who have created a city of no consequences for criminality," he said in the statement. Watch the video below:
Was the Video 'Staged'?
Shortly after the video was shared on Twitter, several users questioned the authenticity of the clip, which many claimed was "fake."
One user shared a screenshot from slowed-down footage of the video, which shows a reflection of the man filming the video and he appears to be wearing a badge while another pointed out that the "suspect" looked like he was waiting for the officers, who had forgotten their "cue" to go after him.
Shake Shack Poisoning Controversy
This is not the first time a police union has been accused of falsely claiming their officers were under attack. In June 2020, as protests against police brutality erupted across the country in the weeks following the death of George Floyd, the DEA was one of the police unions that circulated a false rumor that three NYPD police officers had been hospitalized after they consumed frozen shakes from Shake Shack that were allegedly "poisoned" with bleach.
"Tonight, three of our brothers in blue were intentionally poisoned by one or more workers at the Shake Shack at 200 Broadway in Manhattan," the DEA tweeted at the time. An investigation later found that the officers had experienced a "funny" taste in the milkshakes they ordered from the lower Manhattan Shake Shack outlet was due to the milkshake machine being cleaned right before the order.
