NYPD officer charged with using banned chokehold
Moving swiftly amid a global furor over police misconduct, New York City prosecutors on Thursday filed criminal charges against a police officer caught on video putting a Black man in what they said was a banned chokehold.
Officer David Afanador pleaded not guilty on Thursday to strangulation and attempted strangulation charges stemming from the confrontation Sunday on a Queens beach boardwalk. He was released without bail.
It is the second time the 39-year-old Afanador has faced criminal charges for alleged brutality in 15 years on the police force. In 2016, he was acquitted on charges he pistol-whipped a teen suspect and broke two of his teeth.