Brooklyn NYPD officer who stomped on suspect’s head after he was subdued indicted for assault

February 3, 2015 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Shown at right is NYPD Officer Joel Edouard. Photo Courtesy of the Brooklyn D.A.'s Office

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Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson announced Tuesday that a NYPD officer has been arraigned on an indictment for third-degree assault and other charges for allegedly stomping on the head of a suspect while he was face down on the ground and being handcuffed by other officers.

“Police officers put their lives on the line every day to keep us all safe. However, this defendant allegedly stomped on the head of a suspect as he lay on the ground, which is unacceptable for a police officer,” Thompson said in a statement.

The officer, Joel Edouard, was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun and is expected to return to court on March 24, 2015. If convicted, he faces up to one year in jail.

According to the district attorney’s investigation, on July 23, 2014, at about 7:30 p.m., in the vicinity of 223 Malcolm X Blvd., in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Edouard and his partner allegedly observed Jahmiel Cuffee, 32, drinking on the sidewalk and possessing what appeared to be marijuana. Cuffee resisted arrest and tussled with the officers. Additional officers arrived on the scene to assist Edouard and his partner.

A bystander with a cellphone captured the incident and the video shows Cuffee on the ground, face down and being handcuffed. Also depicted on the video is Officer Edouard briefly pointing his gun at Cuffee, walking away from the scene of the arrest and then walking back and stomping on Cuffee’s head as he lay on the ground. Cuffee’s head then hit the concrete.

Thompson cautioned that Edouard’s indictment is not a charge against the entire police department. “While a serious matter, this indictment should not reflect on the great work being done throughout the city by the vast majority of police officers who perform their duties honorably,” Thompson stated.

-Information from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office