November 22, 2014,
A brutal video catches an NYPD officer bash an alleged fare beater in the head with a baton, opening a gash in the man’s head and sending him stumbling around the Brooklyn subway station in a daze.
Blood spurted from Donovan Lawson’s cut and sprayed witnesses and the walls at the Myrtle Avenue J, M, Z stop during the arrest Thursday just before 8 p.m., Marielle Anas told the Daily News.
“It was one of the most awful things I’ve ever seen,” Anas, 28, said. “I have blood all over my jeans. The brutality of the nightstick – it was crazy. It looked like his head exploded. I couldn’t believe I was seeing it happen.”
Lawson, 20, had “doubled up” with a pal, going through the turnstile together on a single swipe, cops said. He was sitting on a wooden bench when an officer threw at least three punches, Anas said.
“The kid wasn’t doing anything – that’s why I started recording,” Anas said. “If he can’t subdue this kid – he wasn’t even resisting that much!”
As Anas began filming, other bystanders, including the man’s girlfriend, began to yell at the officer to stop the beatdown. Anas went to call 911 just as the officer pulled out his truncheon and cracked the man on the head, sending him reeling across the room in a daze as blood poured from his skull.
Another clip, first obtained by PIX 11, captures the officer brutally arresting the man and using the nightstick across his head, reportedly in violation of New York Police Department policy.
“Everyone was horrified,” Anas said. “There were at least 30 or 40 people that gathered. It just seemed so obvious that it was unnecessary violence.”
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the incident, officials said. The officer involved in the clash had not been suspended or put on modified assignment as of Friday night. Lawson was arrested for fare beating, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, obstructing government administration and harassment charges.
Blood is seen pouring from Lawson’s forehead after he absorbed the blow, leaving him stumbling around the station in a daze, a witness said.
Lawson was hospitalized for his head wound, as was the officer, who reportedly had right hand and arm injuries.
Anas said police frequently harass young people in the station “for no reason.” She tried to get the offending officer’s badge number, but was rebuffed by officers who ordered bystanders to clear the station.
“It’s just so jarring,” Anas said, remembering almost breaking down as she made the short walk home. “It was horrible. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Lawson was previously arrested in 2013 after holding up a man with a BB gun in broad daylight, robbing him of his iPhone and cash and repeatedly punching him, according to court papers. The victim had to be hospitalized.
Lawson pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and served 11 months in prison before being released last month on parole, records show.