NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on an altercation between a New York City police officer and homeless men (all times local):
9:45 p.m.
New York City police are adding to the charges a homeless man who battled an officer on a subway platform will face.
Police said Wednesday that three men will be charged in the incident. Two face riot and obstructing governmental administration. A third will face those counts in addition to attempted assault, attempted criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.
Footage of the altercation was viewed more than 4.75 million times on social media. It shows an officer using a baton and kicking at the men as they come at him. Two other men in the video appeared to be trying to break up the scuffle. They haven’t been charged.
Police only initially cited the men for sleeping on the station floor. The Manhattan District Attorney’s stopped prosecuting such violations in 2016.
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7:35 p.m.
Authorities say three homeless men who battled a New York City police officer on a subway platform will face criminal charges after video of the encounter got attention.
Police said Wednesday two will be charged with riot and obstructing governmental administration. A third will face those counts and attempted assault.
Footage of the altercation was viewed more than 4.75 million times on social media. It shows an officer using a baton and kicking at the men as they come at him. Two other men in the video appeared to be trying to break up the scuffle. They haven’t been charged.
Police only initially cited the men for sleeping on the station floor. The Manhattan District Attorney’s stopped prosecuting such violations in 2016.
The charges announced Wednesday come after criticism from a police union.
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9:20 a.m.
A New York City police union is upset that prosecutors aren’t bringing criminal charges against five homeless men seen on video battling a police officer on a subway platform.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office blames police, saying the men “were not arrested for attacking an officer” in Sunday night’s incident at the East Broadway station.
Police only cited the men for sleeping on the station floor. The DA stopped prosecuting such low-level violations in 2016.
Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch says the DA’s job “is to prosecute crimes, not to act like a social advocate.”
A video viewed more than 4 million times on social media shows Ali using a baton and kicking at the men as they approach one at a time. One fell onto the tracks.