NYPD disbands unit after violent Brooklyn arrest video

NYPD launches 90-day review of narcotics division after violent arrest video

FOX 5 NY's Briella Tomassetti has the latest. 

BROOKLYN - The New York Police Department has disbanded a narcotics unit and launched a broader review after a violent video showed officers beating a man inside a Brooklyn liquor store.

What we know:

The department said a 90-day review will examine policies, compliance, equipment and training related to narcotics enforcement to ensure officers are performing their duties safely and effectively.

Division disbanded, officers placed on modified duty

The narcotics module tied to the incident was disbanded Friday. Two detectives involved, along with their sergeant, were placed on modified duty, meaning their guns and badges have been taken. Six additional detectives, as well as a lieutenant and captain who oversaw the unit, have been transferred.

The video, recorded by a customer, shows two Brooklyn North narcotics detectives repeatedly punching and kicking a man later identified as Timothy Brown inside a liquor store at Hoyt and Baltic streets in Cobble Hill. The incident happened around 4 p.m. Tuesday.

NYPD investigating violent arrest caught on camera

Two NYPD officers are being placed on modified duty after video surfaced of an arrest that quickly took a violent and chaotic turn.

What happened in the Brooklyn liquor store arrest? 

NYPD investigates liquor store incident as mistaken identity

FOX 5 NY's Briella Tomassetti has the latest.

The backstory:

Police said the detectives believed Brown matched the description of a suspect linked to a drug sale during an ongoing undercover operation. According to authorities, an undercover officer had purchased crack cocaine from a suspect and provided a description of an alleged accomplice.

Video of the encounter shows Brown being shoved into shelves lined with glass bottles before falling to the ground, where detectives continue striking him. Officers are then seen dragging him by his legs toward the front of the store. At one point, an officer appears to kick him while attempting to handcuff him. A bystander who recorded the video can be heard questioning the officers’ use of force.

Mistaken identity

Authorities later determined Brown was not involved in the drug sale and was not in possession of drugs. Officials said he works in security.

Brown was initially charged with resisting arrest, but the Brooklyn district attorney’s office later dropped the charge.

What they're saying:

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the video "extremely disturbing and unacceptable," adding that officers "should never treat a person this way."

In the aftermath, Rev. Kevin McCall and families of people killed in past encounters with police met with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch at police headquarters, calling for greater accountability.

"We need them to be suspended. We need them to be arrested. That’s what real justice looks like," McCall said. He also called for expanded use of body-worn cameras among narcotics officers.

Tisch said the incident was already under internal review before the meeting and described the video as "upsetting." The department is also investigating why the officers were not wearing body cameras during the encounter.

A witness who recorded the video said the officers did not identify themselves or tell Brown he was under arrest before using force.

What's next:

The Detectives’ Endowment Association, the union representing NYPD detectives, defended its members, saying detectives "put their lives on the line daily" and urging the public to allow the investigation to proceed before drawing conclusions.